The Love In Me Is You
by Sleepoversat3B
Summary: Aria Montgomery is living in NYC after her failed dream to attend NYU, and while her life isn't perfect, she's grateful for what she has. When a chance meeting causes her to bump into Ezra Fitz, her life seemingly changes forever. But with Rosewood never far enough away, will her past come back to haunt her? And do the two really know as much about each other as they think they do?
1. Chance Meeting

On a frosty February afternoon, Aria Montgomery stood in line at a coffee stand in Central Park while on her lunch hour. The petite brunette had gone to order herself a hot drink to warm her hands on such a cold day, but being Aria - forever fascinated by her surroundings - she hadn't realised it was her turn to order and had blurted out an order for a Green Tea Frappe at the last moment, the barista had looked at her as if she were crazy.

As she watched her drink being swiftly prepared, Aria thought about how much her life had changed in the past five months. It hit her there, slap bang in the middle of Central Park, that this was where she felt at home. The dream to live in the big city she'd had since she was a young girl had finally come true. Well, almost.

Aria had moved to New York City from the quiet suburb of Rosewood, Pennsylvania in the fall after she graduated, and had planned to attend NYU. However, due to many unavoidable circumstances, Aria had been unable to attend the university and was forced to find work in the city to be able to keep up her small apartment's rent.

Aria tried for the most part to block out her childhood in Rosewood; although she had been by far better off than some families with her upbringing, it hadn't been the most stable. Aria was eager to escape Rosewood's (and her father's) tight grasp; due to the settlement's modest population, its residents knew everything about one and other - something that Aria was definitely not comfortable with.

When the end of her senior year approached, Aria had begun to realise that the only way to stay sane would be to leave Rosewood. It was the only way she could dodge the hands of her father, and his tendency to behave in ways which some people would call inappropriate. Aria had no idea where she would go at first; she had been applying to colleges all across the country, however in the perfect picture she'd created in her head, she'd always imagined herself living in a little apartment in New York City attending NYU and satisfying her need to write and create. It would be an idyllic situation, where she could manage to get herself into a good place again.

Three weeks before graduation Aria felt that finally she had taken her life into her own hands. She could almost map out her next few years to come. It felt good to be in control - something she had never really obsessed over at all before - but now that she had been given the luxury of planning her future, Aria didn't know what she'd do without the comfort of having something positive to focus on.

One thing Aria had been troubling herself over was the reaction of her father. She had been meaning to tell Byron, but she'd just never found the right time.

If you came across Byron Montgomery on a good day, you would assume he was a regular guy with a steady job as a professor at the local college. Aria knew her father well, and knew not to raise such a subject on him as moving so far away from home. But it had to be done. There could be no way around it.

Aria's mother, Ella, had taken to the idea quite nicely, giving positive comments and even offering to help Aria pick out an affordable apartment and gave advice on how to cope with living in the big city, although Aria couldn't ignore the sadness in her mother's eyes as she was telling her all this. It would be hard to leave her mother, but she had to do this; she had to get away.

Byron, as expected, stayed silent the whole time, his eyes boring into his daughter's with a look of hatred. Ella looked at Aria with sadness and told her daughter discretely that it'd be best if she arranged a sleepover at Spencer's that night, instead of being the victim of Byron's anger, once again.

With that, Aria's ideal future was torn from her, along with her sense of belonging in this world.

"Hello?" A strongly accented voice interrupted Aria's thought process.

"Your order, Miss."

Aria shook her head and handed over a five dollar bill and told the man to keep the change as she grabbed her icy, cold drink.

Aria wished that she hadn't unveiled such a painful memory right in the middle of the day; she normally saved this sort of "reminiscing" for night time when she was alone and curled up in her queen sized bed.

She looked around the park for a spare bench to sit on, and sipped at her drink as she checked her iPhone for messages. Popular today, she thought to herself as she scrolled through the six messages that she'd received. The first was from her friend Hanna Marin, a photograph of her newly adopted twin Maltipoos, Candy and Pebbles, playing inside a cardboard box. The text brought a smile to Aria's face, and almost made her feel a little better and fit to head back to work.

Just as she was about to start the walk back to the office she was working in - she was currently managing to survive each month's rent deadlines being employed as a receptionist for a local law firm - her phone let out a shrill beep, causing her to spill the half-drunk green iced tea Frappuccino across her expensive grey heels which had been a present from her mother last Christmas.

Aria cursed under her breath as she tried to wipe off the icy liquid with her hands, trying not to cause the shoes any more damage as she did so. Her phone still buzzed on the ground where it had fallen along with the drink. Aria let out a pent sigh as she leant over to quieten the device, but as she bent down, a pair of startlingly beautiful, blue eyes stared back up at her, causing her breath to catch. "Oh," she gasped, surprised.

The eyes belonged to a man who boasted a great handsomeness, topped off with adorable dark brown curls. A radiant smile beamed across his face as he spoke.

Aria was staring into his eyes when she realised that he was waiting for her to reply. "Sorry, what?" Aria fumbled with the napkin she was holding.

"I said, I think your shoes prefer that drink to you." He said with a half-smile.

Aria blushed, and tried to look anywhere but the man's eyes, which was ultimately bound to fail as they were completely and utterly mesmerising.

He chuckled, which made Aria start upright, almost dropping her cell phone again. Aria was sure he'd think she was a lame, clumsy teenager, who drooled over every guy she came across. She cursed herself for being so immature.

"I'm Ezra," the man smiled, reaching to shake her hand.

Aria was surprised to see that he genuinely seemed interested in her, and she accepted his invitation to shake hands. "Aria," she replied, returning the same warm smile he had given her.

The two managed to clean up the rest of the mess which had damaged Aria's shoes in a comfortable silence, but when Aria stood up and began to straighten out her coat, she felt Ezra's eyes on her. She suddenly felt extremely self-conscious, more so than she'd ever experienced. She dared not smile in fear of lipstick being smudged on her teeth, and she fussed over her long, dark brown hair which she'd thrown up in a rushed side braid while on her way to work this morning.

She had always taken great pride in her appearance, not so much to make her vain, but enough to make her feel 'good' about herself. But ever since Aria had made the move to the city, things like that didn't seem to matter as much to her anymore. She hadn't really thought about it until today, but since she arrived in NYC she hadn't had anyone to keep up appearances for, and it all it had taken for her to snap back into part of her old self was meeting Ezra.

It was then that Aria realised she wouldn't be doing side braids on her way to work ever again, not only because she had decided that she was going to make more time for her appearance (starting now), but also because she was likely to lose her job if her 'lunch break' lasted any longer.

"I have to go," Aria whispered, almost so quiet she wasn't sure Ezra had heard, but by the way his face crumpled, she realised he had. She softened. Seeing his confusion and disappointment kind of made him seem like a child. "If I'm not back to work by," Aria paused, glancing at the time on her cell phone, suddenly anxious "now, I won't have a job tomorrow."

Ezra suddenly relaxed, and Aria could almost see the look of relief that washed over his face. "Well, I don't want to be the reason you lose your job!"

Aria giggled. "No, it's anything but you!" she said, beaming at the pretty sight before her. Suddenly she realised that her comment must have sounded better in her head than it had out loud, as she watched Ezra stare at her, a confused and slightly amused look on his handsome face. Aria could feel her face burning with embarrassment, and quickly fumbled for something else to say. "I mean, if I wasn't so clumsy then I wouldn't have had to make you take time out of your day to help me clean up this mess."

Ezra smiled and gently rested his hand on Aria's arm. Even though she was wearing a thick jersey coat, she could still feel the warmth of his touch and her heart beat faster than ever. "Aria, my plans are non-existent. I was more than happy to help a citizen in need, especially a beautiful young woman like yourself."

Aria was taken aback by his use of charm. _This guy really knows how to impress the ladies_, she thought. Just as she was about to speak, her cell phone – yet again – released its signal that she had a text message, reminding her that she wasn't on a leisurely stroll in Central Park and that she did, in fact, have a job to get back to. She glanced at the screen to see a capitalized text message from her work colleague, Jennifer, informing her that she couldn't cover for Aria much longer. "I really have to get back to work, now but…" Aria quietened herself. She wasn't really sure what she wanted to say, but she knew it definitely wasn't goodbye.

"But…" Ezra mimicked, gesturing her to continue.

She practically shook her next words out of her mouth, and instantly doubted herself once she said them. "…I'd like to know more about you." _Stupid, stupid, STUPID! _She cursed herself. Why had she said that, the guy probably had a girlfriend, for all she knew he could be married with five kids. This was what not socializing properly for a year did to you; it made you assume that every guy who looks at you wants to _be_ with you.

Ezra could sense the internal argument going on inside Aria's head and decided it was best to solve all her worries. "I'd like to know more about you, too," he said, giving Aria a warm, reassuring smile.

Aria relaxed instantly and returned Ezra's smile. _He_ wanted to know more about _her_? Aria Montgomery, eighteen year old college failure, who hadn't even bothered to apply lipstick this morning. She felt truly honoured. And anxious that she was going to lose any chance of a career.

"Would you like to come to dinner with me tonight?" Ezra suddenly asked, realising that it was now or never.

Aria couldn't help but smile knowing that he genuinely was interested in her. She was overjoyed to be asked to dinner, but was it safe to be going out with a substantially older man whom she had just met? This was her fist chance to let loose in a long while, and she'd feel bad saying no after Ezra had come to her rescue after she had spilt her drink, earlier. "I'd love to," she finally said, making the decision for herself.

"Great! Well, I know this great place not far from here, actually. How about we meet here at seven?" Ezra said, hoping Aria was comfortable with being taken to an unknown location.

"It's a date, then!" Aria replied enthusiastically, smiling so hard her cheeks were beginning to hurt.

With that, the two parted and Aria walked at a furious pace to get back to the office. She felt like a bag of nerves returning twenty minutes late after her lunch break was due to end, but mostly she was smitten about her chance meeting with Ezra Fitz and the date she was going on later. This was her first real date since high school when she'd been in a patchy relationship with Noel Khan back in Rosewood, and Aria was determined that her date with Ezra would be nothing like the typical teen date nights she had been accustomed to in High School. Was she making a mistake going out of her usual strict comfort zone and letting this man take her somewhere she had never heard of? No, she didn't think so. Ezra seemed like a genuine nice guy, who Aria would love to get to know more about. He seemed like the kind of man she could trust with her life, and without a lead supporting male to fill that role in her complicated life, Ezra seemed like a valid contestant. Plus, he wasn't exactly hard to look at, either.

With a grin on her face which she just couldn't bear to wipe off, Aria set foot into the office she'd grown used to working in the past few months, determined that whatever punishment she was about to receive would not burst her bubble of happy thoughts of her date tonight. Only time would tell, but Aria had a distinct feeling that Ezra would be the kind of person she would want to be going on another date with, and she couldn't wait to get the rest of the day's workload over to find out if her proposal was true.

**Hello! Thank you for reading! I plan for this to be a multi-chapter story, and I have a good idea of how it's going to turn out. I know this first chapter wasn't too exciting, but I promise it will get better and there will no doubt be a lot of Ezria fluff, and – as I'm a sucker for scandal – some drama! I would love to hear your feedback, and by reviewing, you'll encourage me to update sooner! Thanks again, Kate. :) **


	2. The Date

**Hello! This is Chapter Two of The Love In Me Is You, and first of all, I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed the first chapter! I did not at all expect nine reviews for only one chapter! Thank you all very much. This second chapter is pretty long (I got a little carried away, you see!) but I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

The remainder of Aria's workday seemed to drag on for what felt like a good twenty years, but her job had kept her busy enough from actually falling asleep at the reception desk. The manager of the law firm she worked for had been in meetings all day, so was unaware of Aria's late return to work, thankfully. And thanks to Jennifer, she had gotten away with the whole thing.

Eventually, it was time to lock up the office, which now gave Aria time to take her mind off work and focus on her date tonight with the handsome man she'd met earlier. Dusk was approaching as she walked along the busy streets of Manhattan, winding down many of the backstreets to her small, but comfortable apartment. It was then that Aria allowed herself to be nervous. It wasn't that she felt intimidated by Ezra exactly, and she was not one to judge a person after having only known them for five minutes, but the fact that she was going on a date with an older man gave her the kind of butterflies in her stomach like no others she had ever experienced. And the fact that she hadn't exactly let on to Ezra how old _she_ was made her doubt her view on his seemingly open minded personality.

Eventually she told herself to stop over analysing things; she'd only drive herself into a state of extreme paranoia which would lead to her cancelling on Ezra. This was just a date – not a lifelong commitment. She needed to relax.

After letting herself into the traditional apartment complex, she hurriedly took the four flights of stairs realising that it was almost 6pm. Winded from her 'workout', Aria rushed through her cluttered apartment to the bedroom, where she attempted to tackle the mess that was her closet. She had mountains of clothes; something for almost every occasion. But when it came to last minute events like this, she could somehow never find anything to wear.

It was then that Aria realised that she didn't have Ezra's cell phone number, so she couldn't exactly text him to ask whether the restaurant they were eating at required her to dress formally, or if casual attire would be acceptable. But that wasn't Aria's only issue about not having Ezra's number. What if she had been unable to attend the dinner? She wouldn't have been able to let him know. Or what if she couldn't find him in Central Park? A whole load of disasters could spiral out of this date and it hadn't even begun yet. What had she gotten herself into?

Soon enough Aria convinced herself to stop being such a pessimist and pulled out a dark coloured plum dress, which fell to just above her knees and hugged her petite waist nicely. The dress had three-quarter length sleeves, which allowed Aria some warmth on the cold February evening. Once she had applied a fresh coat of makeup, Aria made sure to fix her hair into something acceptable. Unfortunately, much to her dismay, she hadn't had enough time to wash it today. Hopefully Ezra wouldn't think she was gross, but there was nothing she could do about it now with only twenty minutes left until she was due to meet him.

Although she had no intentions of inviting Ezra back to her apartment, still she put away any junk that was lying around, and she straightened out the four foot tall pile of novels that lined a section of the living room wall. She didn't want the place looking shabby if a certain someone did happen to drop by at some point. She took one last look at her little apartment. It wasn't much, but it was a place to call home and completely reflected her quirky personality.

She smiled at how personal it had become in the past few months, and she really enjoy spending time there, more so than she had back in the Montgomery family's home in Rosewood. That house held far too many painful and frightening memories, a lot of which Aria had tried to lock up and throw away the key. She did feel guilty that she had only been home to visit once in her five months away, but she couldn't stand it there. Or one of the people within it, to be more precise. Byron Montgomery perhaps was the reason behind Aria neglecting her family, and she hated it. She couldn't face him, not after the disaster at Christmas.

_*Flashback – the previous December*_

_Three months had passed since Aria had moved out to New York, and they had undoubtedly gone faster than she had ever imagined. Although she hadn't been able to afford her dream college after the clash she'd had with her father, Aria was determined to get away from Rosewood and him as soon as possible. With help from Ella, who Aria really did miss being around, Aria managed to find an apartment with suitable rent fees which was in a perfect location in the big city. Having only spent weekends away in NYC with her family or the school, it had taken Aria a good while to find her way around. At first, Ella had stayed with her in the apartment, obviously not wanting to leave her eighteen year old daughter all alone in a practically unfamiliar city, but come Christmas time, Aria knew that this wasn't the only reason why Ella had chosen to spend a few weeks away from Rosewood. _

_When Aria's train arrived in Rosewood's station on Christmas Eve, she was surprised to see only her mother waiting on the platform to meet her. She picked up her medium sized carry-on bag, and ran into Ella's comforting embrace. "It's so good to see you, baby girl," Ella cooed, kissing her daughter on the forehead. _

"_I've missed you, Mom," Aria replied, linking arms with Ella as they walked to the car. Aria studied Ella's surprisingly youthful face, and frowned when she noticed how pale and tired looking she was. "How've you been?" Aria asked, truly concerned about her mother's wellbeing. Was she sick?_

"_I've been alright, I guess. It's hard not having you around the house. Mike occasionally still calls you down for dinner," Ella chuckled, obviously trying to change the subject. _

_Aria wasn't buying it. "You're not…sick or anything, are you?" Aria asked worriedly. _

_Ella looked surprised at first, but then chuckled. "No, no! I'm just fine. I've not been sleeping properly these past few months which is a bit of a drag. But don't worry, your old mother is still fit and well!"_

_Relieved, Aria dropped the subject. She knew Ella was hiding something but this was the first time the family had been reunited in months, and Aria didn't want to dampen the atmosphere. _

_When the pair got home the house appeared to be empty, so Aria mad her way to her old bedroom to drop her things off and change into something more comfortable so she could help her mom prepare dinner. Aria and Ella had a great time catching up on what had been going on in each other's lives while they cooked the Montgomery family's traditional pre-Christmas meal of mac and cheese. Aria hadn't laughed this much in months, and she knew it was going to be really hard to say goodbye to her mother again after these intimate moments they had shared. _

_Mike came in shortly before the pasta had finished cooking, and the siblings bantered with each other the whole time, while a smiling Ella dished up the meal. The conversation flew easily throughout the meal until Mike asked the dreaded question. "Where's Dad?"_

_Ella sighed and began picking at her food and Aria felt like she had missed out on something major. Ella knew fine that her daughter had once had trouble with her father in the past, and she had noticed it beginning to start again halfway through Aria's senior year of high school. But what Ella didn't know was how serious this 'dispute' had been. And she most certainly didn't know that it had started because of her. _

_Just as dinner was finishing up, a crashing noise sounded from outside, and Mike rushed to the front door to see the commotion. It all happened fast after that. The front door was thrown open by a careless Byron who could barely stand up straight as he walked down the hallway, knocking over one of Ella's large house plants in the making. Ella rushed over to him, offering a helping hand up the stairs, where she assumed he was heading. Aria cringed as she heard the familiar roar of her father's voice, assuring Ella that he could 'do it himself'. She cautiously made her way round the corner of the kitchen, thinking it best that Byron was aware of her presence. "Wait," Mike whispered sharply, only looking out for his sister. But Aria had to face her father, she thought he would take it better if she introduced herself now. _

_Aria exposed herself and walked the short distance to the living room, where Byron and Ella were having an all too familiar shouting session. She watched her mother flinch in fear when Byron raised his hand, only to show authority, but it scared her all the same. He stopped short when saw Aria, though, his mouth forming a hard line. All at once, everything came back to her, all the lies, secrets, and terrifying arguments. Aria didn't want to be there, in fact, she couldn't be there. Her hands became clammy, and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand upright. Black dots danced in front of her eyes, clouding her vision. Blood seemed to fill her ears, and as she watched her father's mouth continue to form words, his face twisted into a rabid expression, but as time slowed down all she could here was muffled voices. Aria had to get out of there, yet she was frozen on the spot, unable to move from her father's empowering rage. Even when he lunged for her, her feet were cemented to the ground. She was unable to process what was happening until Ella's loud shriek and desperate cries snapped Aria out of her shock. Mike stood now at the far end of the room, trying to withhold Byron as he thrashed around trying to free himself. Tears poured down Ella's face as she covered her ears in fear. Mike called Aria's name, and she glanced towards him. "GO!" He shouted to his sister, obviously unable to keep their violent father locked down for much longer. _

_Aria ran quickly upstairs to collect her small weekend bag and jacket, then sprinted out of the Montgomery house as quickly as she could. She ran without looking back for a good ten minutes, until she had no more breath, and found that subconsciously she had made her way to Rosewood's train station. Aria left on the first train back to NYC, and didn't think twice about it until a distraught Ella called her cell phone to make sure her daughter was okay, and that she was sorry about how Byron had acted. In the background of the call, she could hear Mike trying to calm their father down, a few shouts here and there. Only once Aria had ended the call did it hit her; she had been so selfish to leave her mother and brother there with that crazy, violent man when clearly these kind of arguments had been going on ever since Aria left for New York. Sure, they used to argue all the time, but never as intense and terrifying as the argument she had witnessed tonight. And what made Aria feel sick to her stomach was that she was the ultimate cause of each and every screaming match that went on between her parents. And for this particular one, Aria had been the victim of her father's anger for the first time since she found out Byron's secret. _

Aria sighed at the recollection of the way she left her family, but she wasn't going to let that burden her now. If all went well, she would return to her apartment tonight having had an enjoyable date, and that was all she was looking for right now. She slipped into her black button down coat and wrapped her favourite cream coloured fuzzy scarf around her neck and headed out the door. The walk to Central Park would take her about fifteen minutes, and Aria had timed her journey well, arriving only one minute late. When she entered the ostentatious gates of the renowned park, she was amazed to see that the open area was not dark at all, but filled with light. Fairy lights were draped around the tall trees, and the traditional style street lights created avenue down the pathway towards the closed coffee stand where she had met Ezra earlier. Aria couldn't help but stare, awe stricken at the beauty of the park at night time, until she caught sight of Ezra, smiling at her from beside the bench where the accident had taken place earlier. Despite the chilly air, Aria felt her cheeks blush red, knowing that Ezra had been watching her the whole time she fantasized over the beautiful sight.

"Twice in one day! And at the same spot, what a coincidence!" Ezra joked.

She couldn't help but light up at his charm. "It _is_ very coincidental. Hopefully this time I won't ruin another pair of shoes," Aria played along with his sarcasm. He looked unlike any man she had ever seen before, and somehow even more startling than earlier. Reflections of the city lights danced in his dazzling blue eyes as the pair walked down the path towards the park exit. Ezra was dressed in a pair of smart, dark wash jeans and a navy blue duffel coat. He looked adorable, there was no doubt about it.

* * *

*Ezra's POV*

"So, I guess you're wondering where we're going?" Ezra asked, looking down to the tiny, beautiful young woman he had the honour of sharing his presence with. He wasn't the tallest himself being just 5'11, but Aria was such a small woman even wearing heels. He found her adorable, but he was sure that where her height lacked, she made up for with a big personality.

"You could say I'm a little curious," she replied, clutching to the wall on the edge of the sidewalk cautiously. It was icy out, and Ezra bet Aria was having a hard time dodging the slippery surface with the not so suitable shoes she was wearing.

"Well, it's not too far from here, I promise. I should have thought about the practicality of this situation earlier when I asked to meet you in the park, I had no idea that the temperatures were going to drop this low and-"

"Ezra!" Aria chuckled, scaring him out of his nervous babble. "It's okay! It's not like you made it icy or anything." She looked towards him, and Ezra struggled to hide his embarrassment. _Great_, he thought to himself. _Now I must seem like a total nerd. _He looked at the ground self-consciously and realised that he should just relax. There was nothing for him to feel nervous about, Aria seemed like a wonderful girl and he really did want to get to know her. And in order to get to know her, Ezra would have to move past the awkward small talk and actually speak to her.

"So, have you always lived in the city?" Ezra began, thinking that this was a safe place to begin.

It took Aria a moment to begin speaking, almost like she was gauging on how much to tell him. "Well, I actually just moved here after graduation, so I've lived here about five months now. I hate to sound cliché, but I've truly fallen in love with the place," Aria answered, a hint of a smile playing at the corners of her delicately shaped mouth. "Yourself?"

Ezra was just about to ask Aria where she had gone to college and what she had studied, but she threw out her question before he could form the first syllable of his thought. He gladly complied with answering her question, though. Although tonight was about getting to know one and other, he didn't want to push her into telling him information she wasn't ready to share yet.

Ezra shared stories of his childhood growing up in the city suburbs as the pair made their way into the cosy Italian restaurant he had made reservations for. Aria laughed and smiled as he told of his workaholic mother who barely spent any time with Ezra and his brother, but where they'd lacked in nurturing from her, they had received it from their beloved nanny with whom Ezra had very fond memories with.

Having at least opened up to each other a little, Ezra felt a whole lot more comfortable now, and he could tell that Aria was relaxing in his presence too. Ezra watched as Aria examined her new surroundings, her eyes wide as she viewed the fine Italian paintings that hung proudly on each of the walls. From what Ezra could tell, Aria seemed like the kind of person who appreciated historic works such as these, a quality that she had in common with him. He smiled at this; they had only spent around twenty minutes together, yet they already had something in common.

* * *

*Aria's POV*

Soon, a smiley waiter approached the two, who looked not much older than Aria. She guided them to a spot right by the window which looked over the wonderfully lit park they had just walked through a moment ago. Aria was glad they were seated here; although the restaurant was small it was almost filled to the brim, and the lighting by the window gave the affect that they were part of the outdoors while being tucked firmly inside. Ezra, like a true gentleman, pulled Aria's chair out for her and ushered her to sit after he'd helped remove her coat. She could feel his eyes wander over her body as he took in the deep purple dress she wore and her cascading brown curls. She flashed him a small, nervous grin which made him straighten his posture.

The waiter coughed softly to make her presence known, and then began to speak with just a whisper of an Italian accent. "Hello, my name is Claira and I'll be your server this evening. Can I get you any drinks?"

By this point, Aria was glancing at her menu and her mouth was watering over the capacious range of choice. "I'll have whatever you're having," Aria answered, her eyes browsing over the delicious sounding pastas, all served with rich sauces.

"Hmm, well in that case we'll take a bottle of your Bianco Arnies, please," Ezra said, obviously reading from the menu and speaking in the worst – yet most adorable – Italian accent she had ever heard.

Aria giggled at his lame attempt. "Very good. I can totally see that Italian is your first language."

Ezra shook his head in mock astonishment. "Well, obviously I don't like to brag, but I actually was top of the class in school for my vast knowledge of the Italian language."

"Oh of course. I can tell by that deep, heavy accent I hear in your voice. What is it again, hmm…? " Aria chuckled, placing her hand to her head in mock confusion. "American, perhaps?"

The obviousness of her flirting was almost unbearable, but Aria just couldn't help it. Ezra was so easy going and fun, she felt herself adopting his good mood as the pair began to laugh at the scene they had set out.

Claira approached them again, causing them to straighten their composure and end their laughing fit. "Your wine," she said, unscrewing the cork and pouring the cold liquid into each of their glasses. Aria almost choked on her own saliva, causing both Ezra and Claira to give her a concerned look. _WINE, _she screamed inside her head. She had not expected that when Ezra had ordered their drinks, which was a problem as she most certainly was not of legal age to be drinking.

"Are you okay?" Ezra questioned, beginning to raise from his place.

"Yes, I'm fine," Aria finally said after recovering from her coughing fit. She was NOT going to be telling Ezra her actual age, now. It did worry Aria though, that when she did eventually tell him, that he would look at her differently. Ezra obviously thought she looked older than twenty one, so would that effect their possible relationship if he found out she was practically a minor?

"If you're sure?" Ezra genuinely looked concerned, which made Aria smile.

"I'm sure," she replied. The two shared a moment of something Aria couldn't quite explain, but all of a sudden she had the urge to kiss him, which – as she kept telling herself – was completely ridiculous as the pair had just been acquainted a short while ago. But in that moment they both somehow agreed to an unasked question, and Aria all of a sudden knew that she wanted to explore more of Ezra, just as he did with her.

"Are you ready to order?" Claria asked, clearly feeling awkward interrupting what seemed to be an intimate moment.

With that, Ezra stood from his chair and began to put his jacket on. "Actually, I don't think we'll be eating here tonight." He shot Aria a wicked smile, and she couldn't help but smile back in excitement. Claira, however, did not share the same frenzy of sudden excitement, in fact, a look of confusion and disgust corrupted her face.

"You're…leaving?" She questioned while watching Aria button her coat up and wrap her scarf around her neck.

"Yes, we are," Ezra said, slipping his hand in Aria's and directing her towards the exit. "Sorry if we caused you any inconvenience. Oh and here's money for the wine," He added, obviously feeling a little bad. They rushed for the door, hand in hand and unable to control their laughter. The waiter stared after them, her jaw dropped.

As soon as they were back on the busy streets of Manhattan, the pair were in stitches and Aria was barely able to keep up with Ezra's half run. "Her face!" Ezra cried, tears streaming down his face. This only sent Aria into another eruption of giggles, and caused her to slip on the icy sidewalk.

"Ezra!" She shrieked, reaching for him, but it was too late. Aria had slipped and was lying flat out on her butt. At first, Ezra watched her, processing what had happened, but he fell to the floor when a tiny hand grabbed his. "Oh my god!" Aria cried, beginning to giggle softly at the obscurity of the situation, but soon she stopped when she became aware Ezra's warm breath on her neck, and the vibration of his quiet chortle.

She was so close to him, closer than she had imagined ever being to him tonight. Aria's breath caught in her throat when she felt Ezra's hand move over their bodies. "Your hand is a little chilly," He said, embracing her small, delicate hand in his larger one. Her heartbeat sped as she twisted to face the man who she was currently laying on, and she caught sight of those startling blue eyes that had mesmerized her only this morning. Aria raised her hand to cup his cheek, a gesture she felt was intimate enough to signify what she really wanted to happen at that moment, but before her hand reached his rosy cheek, Ezra shivered, causing her to delay her action. "Let's continue this somewhere more practical," He shifted their bodies so they were leant against the wall. "And warmer!" Ezra added, removing his sodden coat from his body.

"Crap," Aria muttered, only now that the affectionate moment she'd shared with Ezra was over did she realise that her good jacket hadn't done such a great job fulfilling its purpose; she was literally soaked through to her skin. She shivered, and realised that if she didn't want to be bed sick with the cold for the next week, she had to get out of these damp clothes. It was as if Ezra read her mind. He raised from their position and offered Aria a hand up to her feet, being sure not to fall again on the icy, wet ground. He took in Aria's shivering, and realised that they really did need to get indoors. "I hate to be a downer, but I kind of can't afford to be sick home from work all week with a cold," Aria said reluctantly and watched as disappointment and uncertainty graced Ezra's face. She really didn't want this date to end after the first half an hour, and she could tell that Ezra didn't want to leave either. An idea pulled at the corner of her mind, but she didn't know if she was pushing the boundaries of their relationship…or whatever _this _was. But her decision was made when the first drop of rain plopped onto her forehead. "You could come back to my apartment?" Aria asked, unsure as to what his answer would be.

Ezra's face lit up with excitement, and Aria knew he was genuine when he grabbed her hand and pulled her to the edge of the sidewalk, ready to hail a cab. "I'd love that. And I once again don't want to be the reason you get in trouble with work," He said as a yellow cab pulled in a few yards ahead of them. "How was everything when you got back? You didn't get in trouble, did you? Because if you did I'd be happy enough to call your boss and explain the situation to her," Ezra said, opening the door to the car for her.

Aria laughed, surprised he had remembered her distress about getting back to work on time earlier that day. "Yes, everything was absolutely fine. But now I'm curious. How exactly would you explain our _situation_ earlier?"

It was hard to tell in the dim light of the cab, but Aria could've sworn she saw Ezra blush a little. "Um." Was all he had to say.

She laughed again at his adorableness. He was truly a rabbit caught in the headlights. "Where are you headed to?" The cab driver asked, keeping Ezra from his explanation.

"East 89th Street, please," Aria said, suddenly panicking in case she didn't have enough money to cover the fare. She didn't earn much money in her day job, which resulted in her only buying the bare necessities for herself in order to keep up the rent for her apartment. She never took cabs. Ever. She figured that if she couldn't get somewhere by walking then it wasn't worth the trip, and she found cabs a waste of money. She had accepted that she would have to sacrifice luxuries like this when she moved to the city, and although it sucked sometimes, she did love it here and she honestly couldn't picture herself living anywhere else.

"You're not far from me, you know?" Ezra said, suddenly close to Aria again. She struggled to supress a moan as she inhaled the spicy scent coming from his dripping wet curls.

"Really?" she breathed, almost unable to resist the urge to place her lips to his moist ones. She couldn't believe this was happening; Aria had never experienced such vehement desire over anyone in her life, he made her feel nervous, yet safe at the same time. And something that Aria was really taken aback at was that she even had feelings for a guy on the first date, never mind that she wanted to kiss him.

"Yes, York Avenue." Ezra continued to stare at Aria, almost as if he was examining her, but unlike earlier when she'd felt squeamish and self-conscious, Aria felt relaxed and completely at ease. There was something special about Ezra Fitz, and even though the pair didn't know each other well at all yet, from what she had heard of him, she knew that he was probably the one person in her life that she could relate to the most right now.

* * *

*Ezra's POV*

Once the cab had dropped Aria and Ezra off outside her small, one bedroom apartment, she led him upstairs. When he'd began to head for the elevator, Aria had tugged on his arm and pulled him up the stairs. He didn't question her, but he assumed it must have been out of order or something. After the short walk up to the fourth floor, Aria shivered in her wet clothes as she searched in her purse for the keys. "Excuse the mess of the place, I didn't exactly expect visitors, you see."

"Oh it's no problem. I bet it's cleaner than my apartment," Ezra replied, eager to get inside the house for the warmth and to see if he could get to know Aria better by her furnishings and decorations. Finally, Aria unlocked the door and entered the apartment, flipping on the lights as she breezed into her home. Ezra was taken aback at first, not only by the size (the apartment was considerably smaller than he'd expected. Not too small to be considered claustrophobic, but certainly cosy.) but by the large stack of books which lined the wall which divide the room between the living area and the kitchen. It looked as if it would reach just above his middle, and as a practicing writer and lover of words, he was interested to see what titles Aria owned. What he also loved was that she had them piled there; no bookshelf, stand or table. Just simply a great number of books, filled with the lives of hundreds of fictional characters. He didn't know exactly what to say to it, but the more he examined the apartment, he realised that it was so _Aria._ He could just picture her curled up on the traditional style leather sofa, her nose buried in one of her many books, or her sitting at her black wooden desk, focusing on work that should have been finished in the office. The place was a mix of modern and traditional styles which somehow fit together extremely well. Aria had managed to make great use of the space, fitting something into every nook and cranny.

Soon, Aria appeared from a doorway which he assumed lead to her bedroom, clad in a fresh pair of dark blue skinny jeans and a thick knit jumper. Ezra hadn't been aware that she had even been away; he'd been too engrossed in his wonderful surroundings. She smiled when he caught her eye. "Some people feel it's a little intense," Aria said, walking over to the kitchen area.

"Well, I think it's pretty amazing," Ezra replied, letting his eyes wander the room again. He stopped short when he caught sight of an amazing piece of art which hung on the only bare white wall of the apartment by the door. It was very abstract, definitely original and the colours were gorgeous. Ezra stepped closer, trying to decipher the artists mark in the bottom corner, but it was someone he didn't recognise. "This is wonderful," Ezra commented, turning to face Aria.

"Isn't it?" she replied, searching for something in one of the kitchen drawers. "It's one of my mom's pieces, actually. It was supposed to represent new beginnings. She painted it when I first got this place so I could at least have some decoration, but now she feels it's lost its charm since the place is kind of filled with feature objects."

"Still, it looks amazing. Wait, so your mom is an artist?" Ezra was intrigued now. "Does this line of talent progress onto later generations?"

Aria laughed and came over to stand by Ezra, a couple of takeout menus in her hand. "I guess you could say she's an artist. She used to paint all the time, and she even used to sell some of her work in a studio in Rosewood, my hometown, for a while. But the people back there – they don't appreciate stuff like this, not how people here do. In Rosewood, everyone keeps their style safe. I guess they don't understand it all that well. She got a lot of her inspiration for her newest stuff when we were living in Europe, and that was where she was truly happy. When we returned to Rosewood, so did the dull, depressing colours and this one that she painted for me was actually the first time she had used colour in years. And she doesn't have time to paint anymore since she became a substitute teacher for the high school, so I was honoured that she created this for me."

Ezra was surprised how much Aria had told him, but thankful to be learning more about her. "Wow. That's amazing!" He beamed, looking over to Aria. "You said you lived in Europe? Where about?"

"Iceland." Aria replied, a curious smile tugging at her perfect bow shaped lips.

Ezra's eyes lit up. "I spent some time in Reykjavik, before I went to Amsterdam,"

"You did?" Aria said with the same excitement.

"It's a great city! There's so much culture and history. And there's some amazing writing studies to be done there. By far the best trip I ever made," Ezra said, nodding his head with passion.

"You're a writer?" Aria questioned, looking as if she wanted to jump around in glee.

"That I am. Or try to be. The truth is I've been out of work for a while. I guess I just found my passion there after training to be an English teacher at college." Ezra watched as Aria's grin grew wider.

"What kept you from living the teaching life?" Aria asked, humorously. "I bet the students would just _love _you, Mr Fitz."

Ezra chuckled, but couldn't help but be turned on by her flirty tone. "High school was a bad enough experience for me as it was. I don't really fancy returning anytime soon, in all honesty. I guess when I had to choose a major, I was pushed into something that was safe and that I was guaranteed to be good at."

"Well that kind of sucks. But I guess if writing was your first love, then you can't go wrong there. Your passion always fights through, and will always bring you the most success. No matter how hard you try to defer it, it'll be waiting for you whenever you're ready," Aria replied.

Although this was no more than a light, getting to know one and other conversation, Ezra couldn't help but feel like Aria was speaking from experience; from her heart. He dismissed this though, not wanting to overstep his boundary. "Anyway. Enough about me. I want to know more about you," Ezra said, hoping he didn't sound too eager.

What seemed to be a look of sheer panic crossed Aria's face for just a split second, but it disappeared so fast that Ezra doubted he even saw it in the first place. "I don't know where to begin," Aria said, fumbling with the takeout menus in her hands. "How about we order food first, I'm starved."

Ezra nodded in agreement, not wanting to push Aria too far, although he was interested in knowing more about the amazing women he stood in front of. "Would you prefer Chinese or Thai?" Aria asked, making her way over to the telephone which sat on the coffee table beside the sofa.

Soon enough, the pair agreed on an order of Thai Chicken with Cashew nuts, and a portion of sticky rice to share. "He said it'll be with us in about a half hour," Aria said, placing the phone back on its hub.

"Sounds good." Ezra was now seated on the sofa, his wet jacket and sweater off and drying in Aria's airing cupboard.

"Can I get you anything to drink?" Aria asked, pulling out two glass tumblers from a hidden overhead cabinet that Ezra hadn't immediately spotted. _This place sure does have a lot of hidden storage,_ Ezra thought to himself. "I have…water, soda…or water," Aria said, looking slightly embarrassed.

"Soda sounds great," Ezra smiled. A thought struck him that maybe Aria didn't drink – after she had seemed shocked at the appearance of the wine in front of her at the restaurant earlier and she didn't seem to have any alcoholic beverages in her home – but he brushed it off as him overthinking things, which he had a tendency to do.

Aria placed the sodas on the table before settling on the sofa and tucking her legs up beside her. "So, what would you like to know about me?"

Ezra sensed a slightly nervous tone, but he wasn't one to judge. They had after all just met that day, and sharing personal things could be rather nerve wracking. The question he asked was one he assumed was the safest, and easiest to answer. He did not expect Aria to stare at him open mouthed when he asked her what her college major was.

"Umm," Was all Aria could say. This time she was the one who was speechless.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to," Ezra jumped in, feeling slightly confused at why she wouldn't share such a fact, but also guilty for making her feel uncomfortable.

Aria settled into her seat, seeming to relax a little. "No. No its fine, really," she finally said, fiddling with the ends of her still damp hair.

"If you don't want to, I understand-"

"I _was_ leaning towards majoring in English literature," Aria interjected, looking down sadly. Ezra noticed the emphasis on the past tense. Did she change course? Did something happen to make her steer away from the degree?

"You dropped out?" Ezra said, voicing his thoughts aloud and not realising how mean it sounded until he couldn't take it back.

Aria seemed stunned for a moment, before coming back to defend herself. "I didn't even get the chance to go to college, never mind _drop out_," Aria said, her tone not angry, like Ezra had been expecting, but sad. Really sad.

Ezra placed his hand on her arm. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"Its okay, Ezra. You didn't know. Most people just assume that, anyway." She looked towards him, her expression sincere.

"What happened?" Ezra asked, truly concerned over this clearly sensitive issue.

"My dad. That's what happened." Aria spoke with a tone of pure disgust, which made Ezra's eyes widen, waiting for her to elaborate.

Just then, the doorbell chimed, interrupting the moment. "That'll be the food," Aria said, unfolding her legs and reaching for her purse.

"I've got it," Ezra insisted, already at the front door and greeting the delivery man.

"Thanks," Aria said, flashing Ezra a grateful smile.

* * *

*Aria's POV*

Aria's mouth watered as she dished up the Thai meal, and she watched as Ezra scanned her DVD collection for something to watch as they ate. Aria had suggested they watch a movie, hoping that this would keep Ezra from asking anymore questions about her college situation. She wasn't too sure she was ready to share absolutely everything, yet.

"You have_ 'It Happened One Night'_?_"_ Ezra asked from across the room. She smiled at his dorky, excited tone.

"Yup. It's my favourite," Aria replied, carrying over their food and placing it on her already cluttered coffee table.

"You're kidding me right?" Ezra said, turning to face her, smirking.

"No, I'm not. Why?" She took a sip of her soda, amused by his passion.

"Because its only one of the best movies ever made!" Aria laughed as he placed the disk into the player, and he then joined her on the sofa where she had already tucked in to her delicious meal. She hadn't realised how hungry she'd been until she'd eaten the first mouthful of the chicken, and she moaned at the pleasure of the mixture of flavours fighting for her taste buds.

"This is amazing," She said in between bites. By glancing at Ezra, he seemed to agree.

After they'd finished eating, the pair sat on the sofa and watched their shared favourite movie, enjoying it as much as they would if it was the first time viewing it. About halfway through, Aria began to yawn. She wasn't certain of the time, but it had to be at least 11PM, and her eyes were beginning to tire. When she went to lay her heavy head back against the back of the sofa, she got a shock when her it collided with Ezra's strong shoulder, having not been aware of how close he had been to her before. "Sorry," She muttered, about to straighten her position.

"No, it's okay. You can lay there if you like." Ezra shifted his body so he was practically lying down on the sofa. Aria hesitated slightly before snuggling into the crook of Ezra's arm; her head laying on his chest. She would never had done this if she was in a non-lucid state, but she was grateful for the sense of warmth and comfort Ezra's body gave her. They continued to watch the movie, Aria feeling Ezra's chest vibrate whenever he laughed at a funny comment one of the characters made. Soon enough, though, the sound of Ezra's soft breathing and his soapy, inviting scent lured Aria to the land of nod, and she couldn't have been happier. Here, with Ezra, all her worries drifted away, and she had time to focus on the small things. Ezra was good for her; he made her feel alive. And she really wanted more than anything for him to feel the same way about her.

* * *

**Thank you very much for reading, I seriously appreciate it so much. I put a lot of time and effort into this chapter, hence the delay. Again, this chapter is kind of long compared to the last one, and that is partly because I'm unsure of when I'll next be able to update as school starts on the 15****th****. Hopefully, I'll fit in time this weekend. Please take the time to review if you've read this, the feedback really encourages me to keep going! Thanks again, Kate. :)**


	3. Getting To Know You

Sunlight streamed through the undraped window adjacent to Aria's twin sized bed, the warmth tickling her out of a well-deserved slumber. Her eyes opened groggily at first, and then she became puzzled over how she'd arrived in her position. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep on the couch…atop of Ezra. She smiled at the thought, remembering the enjoyable night they'd spent together. But where was he now? Aria sat up in bed, her dark hair a chaos of tangled curls falling down her back. She walked through to the main room of the apartment, but Ezra was nowhere to be seen. She _knew_ it was too good to be true. Ezra had bailed on her. Was it because of her awkward clumsiness? Or had she said or done something to scare him off? Just when she thought that this guy was going to be someone different, someone special, and now he had run-

In the midst of Aria's brain wrecking frenzy, she hadn't spotted the piece of paper that lay on top of the kitchen counter. It was a note, obviously from Ezra. She opened the paper and took in his scrawl of messy handwriting.

_Aria, _

_I had the most wonderful night with you, and I for one don't want it to end. Meet me at the same spot in Central Park as yesterday whenever you're ready. I have coffee! _

_P.S. I took off your jumper last night before I took you to bed. You looked hot. I hope you don't mind. _

_-Ezra _

Aria grinned wide. He hadn't run away, after all. He wanted to meet her for coffee, continue their date, and that sure seemed like he shared the same feelings for her as she did him. As Aria reread the note, she stopped in alarm realising that Ezra had undressed her. She was only wearing a polka-dot blue bra and her jeans from last night. He had seen her in her underwear when she hadn't even been _aware_ of it happening. And it wasn't even sophisticated underwear, like a woman of the age he _thought_ she was should be wearing – it was from the bargain bucket at the Sears junior section. She suddenly felt very sheepish about their meeting this morning. But coffee did sound inviting, as she had run out of the stuff a couple of weeks ago and hadn't gotten round to replacing it.

Aria quickly jumped in the shower and let the warm water fall over her body, grateful for the steam keeping her hot. She felt a little shivery still after the last night's events of falling in the ice, and hoped that she wouldn't get sick. All of a suddennshe remembered it was Saturday, which made her relax completely knowing she wasn't due back into work until Monday. Her mood uplifted immediately, knowing that this was going to be a great day.

After showering and picking out a cute, but temperature appropriate outfit, Aria dried her chocolate brown locks and bundled them into a ponytail, before applying her light, daily makeup and brushing her teeth. She examined herself carefully, making sure to take extra time on defining her eyes with a pencil eyeliner, but only to fail because of her shaking hands. This time, the shaking hands weren't caused solely by nerves, but by her almost uncontrollable excitement to see Ezra again. Now, Aria felt she knew Ezra more, which lifted the bar on the awkward first date. Today, she hoped to have fun with Ezra without the feeling of having to reserve herself too much.

* * *

*Ezra's POV*

It wasn't long past 10am when Ezra arrived at the coffee stand in Central Park. Normally he didn't use this stand, but he was sure it would become one of his regulars considering it was the place he and Aria had shared their first memory together. He thought of his date yesterday with Aria. It sure had been the most exciting, non-stereotypical and wild first date he had ever been on, and he'd had an excellent night. He had been reluctant to leave Aria's apartment, in all honesty, but what kind of guy would that make him out to be if he stayed over at a girl's apartment on the first date. He didn't want Aria to get the wrong idea. Aria was special, and he wanted to pace things as slowly – or as fast – as she was comfortable with, which was why he had grudgingly lifted her petite, sleeping body off his, and taken her through to her bedroom. It had been around 2am, and Ezra had been drifting in and out of sleep for the past couple of hours, so that was another reason for his decision to head back to his own apartment.

It hadn't been how he had imagined it, the bedroom. It was much more plain and simplistic, almost as if her decorating money had been cut short here, and the bedroom had been the room to sacrifice, but it still served its purpose and had that _Aria _feel about it, once again. Ezra had placed the small brunette down on the mattress, and watched as she stirred slightly in her slumber, struggling to find a comfortable spot to settle in. He watched as a hint of a frown began to form on her brow, and as she squirmed within the thick, wool knit sweater she had changed into earlier. Swiftly, and terrified she'd wake up, he eased the sweater off Aria's warm body. Ezra gasped when he saw she was wearing nothing more than her bra, and quickly covered her with the duvet, somehow feeling that he was violating her privacy. She wouldn't know, obviously; Aria was peacefully sleeping, her short breaths an indicator if not a guarantee. Most guys would have taken advantage of the fact that a half-naked and extremely attractive woman was sleeping next to them. But Ezra wasn't 'most guys', in fact, he felt guilty just being in the room. He slipped out of the apartment, writing a quick note and leaving it in a place where he _hoped_ was obvious enough for her to find.

Now as he was waiting for Aria to show up, he realised that he should have asked for her cell phone number. Who knew how long she could be? She seemed to be a pretty deep sleeper, so Ezra could be waiting for hours. But he wasn't grudging his time at all, any time he got to spend with this intriguing and beautiful woman was something he was extremely grateful for. Ezra glanced around the park; the trees were no longer illuminated by the lights as they were last night, and the first signs of spring were starting to show as the sun shone through the almost bare branches. He watched as business partners walked through the park, deep in discussion about issues that Ezra didn't care for and probably never would. He smiled as he witnessed a frantic mother chase her dribbling toddler who was heading for a rather murky looking puddle, but his heart began to pound with excitement when he caught sight of a small brunette heading his way. Aria was searching the vicinity for him, and her face lit up in delight as he raised from his spot and her eyes landed on him. She'd pulled her hair up today, exposing her neck which looked extremely kissable, and Ezra's mouth watered at the thought of getting close enough to her to be able to smell the sweet scent of her perfume. Ezra walked towards her, closing the distance between them, and Aria waved as she wove through the littered crowed of people. "Hey!" She said as she finally reached him.

"Hey yourself," Ezra replied, opening his arms to wrap her in a quick embrace. At first, she seemed to shy away slightly, but after a second or so, a determined look crossed her face and she accepted the embrace, relaxing into it almost. Ezra thought he'd take the chance while he could, and buried his nose into Aria's hair, inhaling her precious scent. "How are you this morning?" He asked, breaking away from the hug.

"I'm very well, thanks to you," Aria replied, a glint of something Ezra couldn't quite decipher in her intense, green eyes. "How about you?"

A list of replies ran through Ezra's head at that moment, ranging from 'good' to 'absolutely honoured to be in your presence!' but he settled with one somewhere in the middle. "Great." And it was the truth.

As the pair walked towards the coffee stand, they were close enough that their elbows were bumping together and all Ezra could think about was tangling his fingers in hers. He was sure that she was feeling this intense connection too. Just by looking at her, he could tell that she was as eager for them to get to know each other more, not only to discover each other's personality, but in other ways too. He watched her as she peered over the heads of the crowded line to read the coffee menu, and took in the way her blue jeans hugged her small waist. "What're you having?" Aria asked him, bringing Ezra back to reality.

"I think I'll have an Americano," He decided, pulling out a ten dollar bill. "You?" He began to walk further into the line, getting ready to order.

But Aria rushed forward, slapping her money down on the counter before Ezra could get anywhere near. "I'll take two Americanos, please," He heard her say, a smile in her soft voice.

* * *

*Aria's POV*

"I was going to pay for those, silly," Ezra said in Aria's ear, making her jump in surprise. She hadn't expected to feel his warm breath on her neck just yet, but she wasn't complaining.

"Well, you covered dinner last night, so I thought it was only fair for me to buy you a coffee," Aria said, turning around to face Ezra's distractingly handsome face. She took in his chiselled jaw, and the small amount of stubble which grew across his cheeks and her heart did a flip. He was _so_ hot. So hot that Aria wondered if he was out-of-her-league-hot, but the thought was gone almost immediately when Ezra's hand snaked into hers, and he turned her round towards the coffee stand. "Thank you," She managed to tell the barista, stunned by the feeling of Ezra's hand in hers. On this cold morning, he made her whole body feel warm and snug, and he made her mood feel exactly that of his; happy and carefree.

They took a walk around one of the park's ponds, sipping at their coffee vigorously to try and stay warm. "So, what _do_ you work as?" Ezra suddenly asked, catching Aria off guard. She felt a little pathetic telling him, he obviously expected her to have some major career and Aria was worried that by telling him of her 'temporary' situation job, she would disappoint him.

"I work in a law firm, as a receptionist. It's just temporary, right now, until I can get back on my feet, kind of," Aria mumbled, looking anywhere but Ezra's face. She couldn't bear to know if he thought less of her because she had a crappy job, and wasn't college educated.

"Aria," Ezra said, taking both Aria's hands in his. "You don't have to feel bad about it. This is part of who you are, and I'll have you know that you are an amazing young woman who I'm really, really beginning to like. I can see how much you wished that you could have gone to school here in the city, but remember; college isn't everything. There I more to life than staying up to irrational hours of the morning trying to finish a paper that the professor glances at once. Believe me when I say this; I don't think any different of you from what you just told me. I still want to know you, in fact, you've been all I can think about these past few days because there is something about you that's different from anyone else I've ever met. You have this wonderful, quirkiness that I'd never expect to find in someone, and your beauty is so pure and radiates throughout you. I really do like you, Aria. I can only hope that you share these feelings."

Aria was stunned. Never in her life had anyone said something to her that could actually slap her stubborn side in the face. Ezra was right. Of course he wouldn't think differently of her; he was a kind, respectful and amazing man who seemed like he would stick by her through anything. He was interested in her, and he embraced her quirky side; something that her only previous boyfriend, Noel Khan, hadn't been a fan of. Ezra made her feel happy, an emotion she hadn't truly felt for a long time. No words could describe what she wanted to say to him, so instead she let her body and feelings go, and before she knew it her lips were connecting with Ezra's. There was no reaction from Ezra at first, and Aria began to panic, thinking she had moved on him too soon, but after a second, Ezra dropped his coffee cup and slid his strong, writer's hands around Aria's waste and began to kiss Aria back. It was gentle at first; the two not sure exactly what to do with themselves. But eventually Aria began to sink deeper into the kiss, thirsting for more of Ezra's sweet taste. She stopped, however, when she felt hot liquid pooling around her feet, and gasped when she noticed coffee all over her black studded pumps. "What's wrong?" Ezra asked, alarmed at first.

Aria pointed to her feet and burst out laughing. To think that this was the way they met, and the way that they were ending their first kiss. Maybe fate was trying to tell Aria something about her choice of footwear.

"Oh my gosh! Did it burn you or anything? Are you okay?" Ezra asked frantically, searching in his jacket pocket for a napkin, Aria presumed.

"Ezra, I'm fine," Aria assured. "It's just my shoes…again. I guess you were right, my shoes _do_ seem to like my drinks more than me!"

Ezra began to smirk, and before they knew it, the couple were both in fits of hysterical laughter just as they had been the night before. "I don't think I've ever laughed this much with anyone in my entire life before," he said, his eyes sincere. Aria felt his stare, and gave Ezra a small smile. The truth was, Aria hadn't laughed in months, either and she had been enjoying the fun she'd had over the past couple of days more than anything. Up until now, settling in and trying to keep on top of the rent was the main priorities to Aria. After her experience with Ezra recently, she had realised that spending time to treat herself once in a while or meeting up with a friend was something she needed to have in her life. She needed to focus more on herself; it had been as if she was a living robot, doing the same things each and every day, barely any variations involved in her busy schedule. And it wasn't healthy, anyone could notice how much it was draining Aria, mentally and physically.

"This has been really fun," Aria said, lacing her hand in Ezra's and steering him towards the trash can. "Being with you…it makes me happy. You make me feel good." She blushed at her awkwardness, and dared a small glance at Ezra.

"I'm glad you've had fun, Aria," He grinned, showing true elation.

The pair walked hand in hand through the park, only stopping when Aria's stomach began to growl, demanding her to eat. Ezra chuckled, shaking his head. "I suppose you'd like some breakfast, then?"

Aria didn't want to seem like a pig, but the rumbling grew fiercer, and she didn't see any way she could avoid eating. "Well, I think my stomach is being a little insistent, so I'm going to have to take you up on that offer," Aria said, pressing hard on her stomach. "Not that you're paying!" She quickly added, mortified in case she had offended him.

"Are you any good at cooking?" He asked, a curious smile gracing his face as if he were contemplating an idea.

"I guess so?" Aria questioned, admiring Ezra's adorableness.

"Well how about I buy and you cook? We'll go to my apartment, there's a grocery store just around the corner we can get the supplies from."

Aria stared at him for a minute before her stomach cried out, once again, making the decision for her. "Okay, let's do it!"

Twenty minutes and three bags of groceries later, Aria was following Ezra along the hallway to his apartment. The building, although aged about the same as hers, was much more elaborate and expensive looking; the hallways were carpeted and the elevator wasn't creaky and shifty. Aria was busy looking at the wonderfully detailed ceiling cornice, that she didn't notice Ezra come to a stop and almost bumped right into him. She looked up at the tall door he was unlocking, and saw a plaque which read "3B" in small, gold lettering. As soon as the door opened, Aria could tell the apartment was big just by the echo the sound of her shoes made on the hardwood floor. The room was large and painted a deep maroon red on one of the back walls, and on the others hung vintage film posters. She glanced around at the plush looking couches, and the office area which was sectioned off by a bookshelf in the corner. It actually took Aria a moment to realise that there was only one room, besides the bathroom, to the whole apartment. It was so large, but yet so brought together by the way Ezra had sectioned the room off. "Nice place," Aria said, taking her jacket off and laying it over the back of the couch.

"Oh, thanks. It's due for a spring clean soon, though. You never know what I might find under that bed; last year's clear out reunited me with one of my favourite books," Ezra babbled as he unloaded the groceries into the fridge.

Aria could tell he was nervous; he tended to carry on like this when he had an anxious streak in him, she had noticed. She chuckled a little at his humour. She sure was a sucker for wittiness. "So, what am I cooking then?" she asked, taking in the variety of ingredients Ezra had purchased at the store.

"Well. Since you ever so kindly helped to pick out most of this stuff, I'll leave it up to you," Ezra said, placing the perishable goods he'd bought in the pantry. "Wait…where did these Froot Loops come from?" Ezra inquired, his face a mixture of confusion and amusement as he lifted the box of cereal.

Aria grinned, and couldn't help but smile. "I can't believe you didn't notice I put those in there!" She laughed, taking them from him and opening the packet.

"_I_ can't believe I didn't see _you _put those in there! What the hell even are they?" Ezra said in mock disgust, as Aria dunked her hand in the box and returned it to her mouth with a handful of colourful cereals.

"I got them for munching on…while I make us brunch," Aria said in between bites.

Ezra looked at her, his face softening as the corners of his lips turned upwards. "Would I like them?"

"No," Aria said definitely, wrapping her arms around the box protectively.

"How do you know? I mean, that kiss we shared earlier wasn't exactly deep enough for you to examine my taste buds…" Ezra edged closer to her, unravelling the box out of her small arms and encasing her hands in his.

"Are you suggesting something, Mr Fitz?" Aria's reply was throaty, her nerves on high alert and the butterflies were returning to her stomach.

"I think we need to find out if Froot Loops are up to my cereal standards," Ezra replied, placing his lips gently on hers. Before she knew what was happening, Aria pushed herself into the kiss, her hunger for Ezra was stronger now than it had been earlier, and it scared her slightly how heated the moment was getting. Ezra's strength matched hers, and their tongues began to fight for dominance as he hoisted her onto the kitchen counter to ease the rather large height difference. She moaned softly as Ezra's hands ran along her back, and goose bumps rose on her ivory skin as he chewed softly on her lip. She caressed his face in her hands, leaving sweet kisses along Ezra's long neck, pleasure filling her body as he returned the gesture. Her hands knotted in his chocolate brown curls when he kissed her harder, their mouths exploring each other's zealous bodies and the passion between them nothing like Aria had ever before experienced. Aria pulled back, gasping for air, as Ezra's brow furrowed in confusion.

"What?" She asked, panting.

Ezra smoothed Aria's flyaway hairs down before pursing his swollen lips. "I don't think I'm much of a Froot Loop fan, if I must say," Ezra confessed, causing Aria to giggle. She had completely forgotten about that. He held her beautiful face delicately in his hands. "I much prefer the taste of you, Aria Montgomery."

* * *

**Hello! So, this was chapter 3 of The Love in Me Is You. Thank you so much for all your lovely reviews, I honestly can't believe there are FIFTEEN! And also, to those of you who have favourited and/or followed, thank you too! This chapter was a bit of a struggle for me to write as I had school this week, and it's kind of eventless, but I felt it better that Aria and Ezra get to know each other properly before the real fun starts. I would still love to hear your feedback on my story (if you like where it's going, how I can improve anything etc.) so reviews are most definitely welcome! Thanks again for taking the time out of your day to read this, it means a lot to me! Xoxo – Kate :)**


	4. Don't Spill Your Coffee

Things had been going well for Aria and Ezra over the past few days, and come Monday morning, Aria knew it was about time that she mentioned her new romantic interest to her friends sometime soon. It would give her reason to video chat with them in the first place. Ever since the girls had gone their separate ways for school, they'd been seeing less and less of each other due to busy schedules and had turned to skype-ing every week or so. Aria did miss the girls a lot. She missed Hanna's outbursts of inappropriate humour and Emily's down to earth sweetness. But most of all Aria missed Spencer, and her selflessness towards their friendship. Spencer was always the one Aria went to whenever she needed consoling after a rough night with her father, or the one to unite the group together for sleepovers and movie nights whenever one of its members needed cheering up. But since they'd all parted ways back in September, the girls hadn't time to visit each other as much as they had planned before. It saddened Aria each time she thought about how Spencer was living her dream at U-Penn and Emily was off to Danby on her swimming scholarship. Even Hanna was taking fashion design classes at Hollis College and was taking small steps to get to where she wanted to be. And she was: Aria Montgomery the failure. But then she remembered the amazingly handsome man who she'd met on Friday, and a smile instantly spread across her face.

The rest of Saturday had been wonderful; they'd cooked a batch of dodgy pancakes quite successfully, and then the two had spent the afternoon watching a silent film, their bodies getting closer every ten minutes. Aria had felt like a small child who was being dragged away from the play park when the time rolled around for her to return to her own apartment. They had spent a god five minutes procrastinating after she had wrapped herself up in her coat and slipped into her shoes, but the two had parted ways agreeing to meet up again soon.

Aria smiled at the memory of the chaste kiss she and Ezra had shared before embarked on the twenty minute walk back to her home, and now she longed to smell his soapy scent again. It had only been a day since their last contact, but Aria already missed the sense of security she felt around Ezra, and knew it would only be a matter of time before her hands reached for her cell phone and dialled his number. Little did she know, she wouldn't have to take such actions.

As she showered and got ready for her long day at work, Aria received a text message from Ezra. She almost jumped around in glee when she saw the sender, and felt like crying out in happiness when she read the actual message.

_I'm outside your apartment block. Want to walk to work together? I have coffee again, and I promise that I'll do anything to keep it from spilling on your shoes today! – Ezra xoxo_

Aria continued her morning routine with a prominent grin on her face – making sure to pay extra detail on her hair and makeup – and made her way down the stairwell to start the day. Ezra was stood by a lamppost, his back to the doorway of the apartment block. He was wearing somewhat casual but smart attire, and Aria could tell he looked adorable just from the way he'd left his shirt untucked. The sound of Aria's heels clicking on the sidewalk brought her arrival to Ezra's attention, and he turned to face Aria, a boyish smile on his face. "I brought coffee!" He exclaimed, stepping towards Aria and wrapping her in a tight embrace.

"Why thank you," Aria replied, snuggling into Ezra's warm chest, inhaling the scent of his aftershave and wanting nothing more than to be able to stay there all day. Eventually, she stepped back reluctantly and took one of the steaming Styrofoam cups from Ezra and laced her free hand in his.

"Good morning to you too," Ezra said, a hint of surprise in his voice which made Aria wonder if she was buried too far deep into something that maybe wasn't all she thought it was yet (they hadn't exactly known each other long, never mind put a label on their 'arrangement') but Ezra proved her wrong when he leant down to place a soft kiss on her forehead, causing Aria's heart to beat double time.

They discussed how the rest of their weekends had gone while they walked and sipped away at their hot drinks, the weather seeming to warm at the same rate as Aria's heart. Unfortunately, the short walk to Aria's workplace was not long enough to suffice either of the two's cravings to see one another, and as soon as they came to a stop, a sudden lapse of disappointment clouded over Aria. "Stupid work," she said under her breath, causing Ezra to smile at her frustration.

Ezra took placed his hand under Aria's chin, perking her head up to face him. "Hey, we still have after work. How about we go out to dinner tonight? My treat."

Aria's eyes widened. She sure wanted to see him again, but couldn't possibly let him spend even more money on her, it just wasn't fair. "I'd love to," she began, contemplating her thoughts. She could spend a little money, she supposed. Things were going well this month; she'd been saving a little harder, and this would help fulfil her new resolution to treat herself more. "But I'm paying. You've spent all the money in this…arrangement so far, I want to give something back." There, it was done. She was going to take Ezra out for a meal – somewhere equally as nice as it was kind on the price – and they were going to have a wonderful date night.

Meanwhile, Ezra looked at her sheepishly, obviously sensing Aria was having an internal conversation with herself, but nodded his head in agreement, not wanting to have a run in with Aria's stubborn side. "If you're sure?"

Aria raised up onto her tiptoes, and pressed a long, soft kiss onto Ezra's lips. "I'm sure," she replied, after stepping away and walking up the steps to the doorway of the law firm. "Call me at lunch!"

She watched Ezra wave to her as she pulled open the large, glass doors to the building, and a warmness fell over her like nothing she'd ever felt before. Ezra's presence enlightened her, and almost made Aria forget about all her screw ups and problems that troubled her daily. With Ezra, not only could she find a safe place, but she was beginning to realise that this was what she needed in her life to keep her from falling into a dark, terrifying place. Ezra Fitz had casted a spell on her, and she was loving every individual second of it.

She was going to walk into work and not let anyone sour her mood, planning to power through the mountains of paperwork with the excitement of knowing she was seeing her beautiful date later on. Aria hummed the tune to her favourite song as she made her way around the back of the reception desk, but soon quietened when the distinct sound of someone sobbing came to her ears. Peering around the corner, she spoke softly. "Hello?"

The noise quietened, and a few short sniffles replaced the crying. Aria continued further into the office and spotted her colleague, Jennifer standing over her workstation, packing her personal belongings into a grey cardboard box. Her usually neat, red hair was dishevelled in its topknot style, and her eyes and nose were puffy from crying. At first, Aria was rather overwhelmed by the unusual situation, and didn't really know how to perceive it, but soon rushed over to the distressed woman and wrapped her in a friendly hug. Jennifer was resistant at first – though she and Aria had worked together for the past five months, they weren't used to run in's like this – but she finally leaned into Aria and embraced her comfort. "What's going on, Jennifer? Did something happen?" Aria eventually asked.

Jennifer pulled out of the hug and stepped away from Aria, awkwardly smoothing down her skirt a tight, but apologetic smile on her face. "Everything's going to be fine. They had to let me go, but everything's fine. I hadn't planned to work here for much longer anyway, so it was probably for the best. And it really just wasn't suitable for me to get a cab all the way across the city every day, so I guess I'll be saving money now." She spoke frantically, and began packing the last of her belongings into the box. Aria was focused on only one thing though; what on earth had Jennifer done which had resulted in being fired?

"I don't understand, I thought that there was talk of you getting a promotion last month? How could they-"

Jennifer snapped around to face Aria quickly, her face a mixture of anger, hatred and disappointment. "Of course you wouldn't understand, you're just a _child!_ They should have never even hired you anyway. If they hadn't, then this would never have happened! I stood up to them for you. I told the manager endless times how well you were fitting in and how fast you were picking up new skills. Do you know why? Because I saw a little bit of my younger self in you. But I must've been wrong to think that, because when I was in my first job, I was good at timekeeping; a skill you're obviously lacking." Jennifer picked up her box and walked towards the exit. Aria's face was pale with shock, and her hands twitched nervously as she watched her ex-co-worker take the walk of defeat around the reception desk.

"Jennifer," Aria began, rushing over to the mezzanine wall to catch the woman before she left.

"Be thankful you still have this job, Aria. And don't screw anything up for yourself." With that, Aria was left alone in the claustrophobic office, the artificial lights intensifying the pounding headache which was beginning to make an appearance across Aria's temple. _What the hell just happened?_ Aria thought to herself. This couldn't have anything to do with Aria coming back late the other day, could it? It was only fifteen minutes, and why would they fire Jennifer for that anyway? Bile began to rise in Aria's throat as realisation sunk in. She didn't know if it was because of the way Jennifer had spoken to her, or because of the possible discovery that someone had lost their job because of her carelessness, but tiny beads of sweat began to form on Aria's forehead and she knew she had to get to a bathroom before she threw up over her shoes. Her head throbbed as she pushed open the door to the communal bathroom which was shared between each of the workers in the law firm, which was just as claustrophobic as the office she spent the majority of her day in. Aria unwound her woollen scarf from her neck – it all of a sudden strangling her – and practically burst the buttons on her coat trying to cool her panic flushed and sweaty body down. The coffee she'd drunk this morning was all that was in Aria's stomach, and her oesophagus contracted over and over willing every molecule of liquid to be removed from her gut.

Tears pooled in her hazel eyes as Aria cleaned herself up by the sink. All she wanted to do after such an unpleasant experience was go home and lay in bed watching reruns of true life movies, but Aria was an adult now and she had to take responsibility for her actions, which meant she couldn't just go running home every time she was faced with a difficult situation. For the first time in ages Aria felt that everything she'd known for the last five months had been a lie. Surely if Aria was the reason Jennifer had lost her job, there would have to be more reason than that of her timekeeping on just one occasion. She couldn't keep thinking about all of this mess, she'd drive herself into a more crazed state than ever. She had to be the bigger person about all of this and keep herself busy; after all, she did have a job to do, and sitting locked up in bathroom feeling sorry for herself was just not cutting it.

Aria washed her face with cold water, and then reapplied her makeup quickly before placing a piece of gum in her mouth. She felt much better physically, but those anxious butterflies still lingered in the pit of her stomach and the unmistakable feeling of guilt lay heavily on her shoulders. She had only been in the working environment for thirty minutes today, and it had been the most unpleasant situation she'd encountered in all her five months working there, but she knew that if she didn't go out there now, her job would be as non-existent as Jennifer's. Just as she was about to unlock the door and face the day ahead, Aria's phone rang, the melody to _Bel Air_ by Lana Del Rey echoing throughout the small, concrete-tiled bathroom. It took Aria a moment to realise that it was in fact her _phone_ that was ringing, not it just acting up and playing the song she'd happened to set as her ring tone. Why would someone be calling her at this time? Everyone knew she was in work, plus she barely had fifteen contacts on her cell phone; only seven of which had called her in the last five months. She pulled out the white iPhone and saw that it was her friend, Hanna Marin who was trying to contact her. Panic rushed over Aria once again. Had something happened to her, Emily or Spencer? "Hello?" She answered before she could trouble anymore over the issue, her voice still ragged from crying a few minutes earlier.

What came next was something she had not at all expected, and she had to pull the phone away from her ear to avoid being left hearing impaired. "Aria!" the cry of her three best friends brought a smile to her face, and she listened as the three girls laughed together. "We've probably killed her eardrum, guys," Spencer commented, and the others giggled along with her.

"Hey guys!" Aria called, her day brightened by hearing the girls she loved the most having fun. "How are you all?"

"We are great! We miss _you_, though," Hanna said, her tone serious.

Spencer's voice came through the speaker next, and Aria felt her heart swell as her friend's husky voice came across the line. "Emily's home from Danby for the weekend, and I came back from Philly to see her. I know you're busy, but we'd love if you'd come join us for dinner and whatnot? It's been absolutely _ages_ since we've all been together!"

Aria thought about it for a moment. Right now, she really needed a hug from her friend's, and now that the idea of seeing them in just a matter of hours had been put out there, she couldn't say no. Money was tight, and it wasn't exactly cheap to get the train all the way into Rosewood without booking in advance, but she'd just work overtime the next few weeks to make up for it. "I'd love to come! This is perfect. I really needed a hug from my best friends earlier, and I can't wait for us to be reunited! This is actually really coincidental, because I was going to ask if you wanted to do a group video chat tonight."

"We can't wait to see you, too!" Hanna replied, before launching into a story about Caleb. Aria listened in, grateful to be listening to her best friend's chat like they did back in high school. Not a minute later there was a heavy thump on the bathroom door, startling Aria so much that she almost dropped her phone. She remembered that she was actually at work, and it would be getting to the point in time where clients would be coming to the reception desk, and she wouldn't be there to sign them in.

"Guys, I'm supposed to be working just now and there's no one to cover for me. I've got to go," Aria announced, sadness seeping through her. All she wanted to do was go and be with her friends right now. She was eighteen – still a kid in most people's eyes. The girls said their goodbyes and agreed that Aria would meet them at the Rosewood Grille at 7pm. She reluctantly made her way to the bathroom door, preparing herself to face whoever was waiting behind it for her.

* * *

*Ezra's POV*

Ezra had spent his morning lazily attempting to perfect a chapter of the novel he was currently writing, but his mind couldn't stop wandering to the clock on the far wall, forever wishing noon to come. He sighed in frustration at 11:30am, it was too early to call Aria and he didn't want to disturb her during working hours, but he longed to hear her voice. He couldn't wait for his date with her tonight, but had found it difficult to agree to let her pay; it just wasn't gentlemanly. In fact, he would make sure of it that she didn't pay, even if it meant calling the waiter back over at the last second. He imagined the situation in his head, her face would be a picture of shock, and she'd probably pull her stubborn side out on him and give him the silent treatment until they got home. But then he would lure her out of her determined stance with kisses and tickles, and she'd give in and they'd share another amazing moment, like they had done on Saturday.

Ezra had felt like he was floating in the clouds, like nothing could bring him down. The electricity had been static between them, and his nerves ran wild each time their skin brushed. With every soft kiss she gifted him, goose bumps formed on his skin and the blood in his veins circulated around his body double time.

He couldn't wait for another of those moments, yet he wanted the next to be completely unique and foreign, so his body could experience the same feeling of prodigious suspense, unaware of what marvellous gesture was going to come next. He had never felt this way about any other woman, and Ezra knew that he couldn't help but fall in love with Aria. And it was okay. In fact, it was better than okay; it was wonderful.

It struck Ezra then that a whole half hour had passed without him getting any work done, so he decided to call Aria, guessing that this would be the time of her lunch break. He didn't have to search far for her in his contacts; she was the first person, naturally her name beginning with the letter A. As he pressed call, Ezra wondered if he should have gone to meet her with a sandwich by her work. Wasn't that what you were supposed to do for the person you were dating? They hadn't arranged it for today, but Ezra decided to save that idea for the near future, sure that Aria would appreciate such a gesture.

She answered after the third ring, her voice hushed as she spoke. "Hey, Ezra. Give me two seconds, I have to close the office for lunch."

He waited as she placed the phone down, but she didn't hang up. He could hear her humming a song he didn't recognise, and he imagined her busying herself around the office and logging off computers. Soon, she came back on the line, and Ezra noticed the transition from the quietness of the office to the bustling streets of the city. "Okay, I'm free! Hi."

"Hey!" Ezra greeted her, smiling like she was right in front of him. "How is work?"

An odd noise came from the back of Aria's throat, which Ezra took as a groan. "Don't even get me started. It's been one of the worst mornings ever," Her tone saddened as she replied, and Ezra's concerned trait kicked in immediately.

"What happened?" He asked, sounding a little more frantic than was probably necessary.

"I…I don't really know. I think my colleague lost her job because…of me?" She replied, her tone unsure.

"Wait, what? How?" Ezra was aware that his demanding of answers wasn't helping the situation right now at all, but confusion and a severe amount of questions whizzed around Ezra's brain at that moment.

"All I know is that one minute she was leaning on me for support and then the next she was yelling at me like I was a child who'd eaten candy before dinnertime." He heard her voice crack, and Ezra wondered for a moment if she was crying. He couldn't bear the thought.

"Are you okay?"

"It was horrible, Ezra. I really wanted to hug you." He listened to the distress in her voice, and heard her breath catching as she tried to stifle a sob.

"Do you want me to come see you? I can meet you at the park in fifteen minutes or so?" Ezra said, beginning to log out of his laptop. If Aria needed a hug, he was quite willing to go and deliver one to her. He couldn't imagine someone shouting at his Aria; she was so small and she was anything but mean.

"No, no. Don't take time out of your writing for something silly like this. Besides, I have a short lunch break because there's no one else to cover the desk, so we had to close up completely for lunch today. Thank you for the offer, though. I really appreciate it,"

"Aria, I've written a grand total of one hundred words in four hours so don't worry about me having to take a time out. Besides, I'd love to see you." Ezra was hopeful that he'd be able to win Aria over, but unfortunately that was not the case.

"I know, I'd love to see you too, but we don't have enough time right now," She sounded disappointed, just as Ezra was feeling. He could see her point, though, and he didn't want to make her late back to work again.

"I know. We'll just have to make up for it tonight." Ezra smiled deviously. "Where are we going, by the way?" There was silence on Aria's end of the line for a moment, and Ezra wondered if they'd been cut off. "Aria?" He called, gauging if she was still there.

"Crap," She groaned.

"What?" Ezra began to wrack his brain for possible reasons she couldn't attend their date tonight. If it was to do with the money, then Ezra was happy enough to pay.

"I totally forgot. Gosh, I feel awful now," Aria began, her voice stressed.

"Aria, what is it?" Ezra pressed, confusion clouding his judgement.

"My friends from home called me this morning. They're all back from school and want me to go visit them and have dinner," Aria finally confessed.

"That's great, Aria! I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time." Ezra was disappointed that he wouldn't see Aria as planned, but he was happy that she was getting to see people who obviously meant a lot to her.

"But what about our date? I was supposed to take you out of dinner," Aria mumbled, like a small child. Ezra could tell she felt uncomfortable with the arrangements, so he made it his job to relax her.

"Aria, don't worry about it. We can rain check on the date, this is something you can't reschedule. Go and have fun with your friends!" Again, Aria went silent and Ezra could hear the busyness of Central Park through the cell phone's speaker as Aria walked. He could tell, however, that she was contemplating an idea.

Eventually she spoke. "How about you come with me?"

"_Come with you?" _Ezra repeated her suggestion, which was something he had _not_ been expecting to hear.

"Yeah, to Rosewood. My friends won't mind. Plus, I feel absolutely awful about bulldozing our plans because of this. I was really looking forward to spending time with you tonight, and this way we still can," Aria's tone began to flutter with excitement as she suggested this. Ezra, though, was feeling a little unsure of the idea.

"These are your friends, Aria and I don't want to take away the little time you have with them."

"Ezra, it would mean a lot to me if you came. Rosewood doesn't have the best memories for me, and I'd love to have your support," Aria protested, a sudden longing in her voice.

Ezra thought about it for a moment, searching his brain for warning signs or negativities. He couldn't find one reason for him not to agree with Aria, and knowing that by going he was helping her just made the idea even more appealing to him. "I'll come. What time should I meet you?"

Aria squealed with excitement. "I swear if I could kiss you right now, I would." She giggled afterwards, and Ezra could tell that she was looking around herself in embarrassment. "Meet me at my apartment at 4:30. I'm getting off work early so we can catch the 5 o clock train."

"Okay, sounds good. I can't wait to see you!" Ezra breathed, excitement flooding through him at the thought of the two hour long train ride the pair would be sharing together.

"Me too. Thank you for doing this, I really appreciate your kindness," Aria replied. Ezra could really tell how much this meant to her, and he was going to make sure Aria enjoyed every moment of her night. "I have to get going now, but I'll see you this afternoon!"

Ezra smiled. In the space of ten minutes, Aria had gone from being in a downwards spiral of sadness to light and happy again, and that's the way he wanted her to stay. "Great. Oh and Aria?"

"Yes?" she replied cautiously.

Ezra chuckled, laughing at his own joke before he'd even had a chance to tell it. "Don't spill your coffee."

"Ass," Aria murmured, before joining in with Ezra's laughing. He loved the sound of her laugh; it was the kind of sound that – if they were currently in a fairy tale – would attract wildlife from all around, the pure and delicate notes almost sounded like a song. Oh how he wished to kiss her right now. But he knew that within a matter of hours, he'd have Aria by his side and her warm personality would warm his heart.

The two soon hung up, and Ezra began to wander through his apartment in need of something to keep him busy for the four hours he would be spending waiting for Aria. And he was absolutely sure that these were going to be some of the slowest hours of his life. Aria Montgomery had infected him with something fatal; his feelings for her so intense that he couldn't concentrate without hearing her melodic voice. And he made an internal promise to himself that for as long as she wanted him, he would be hers.

* * *

**Hey! Thank you for reading, and for putting up with the wait for this update. School has been getting in the way of my life; I've had endless amounts of homework. Also, thanks a bunch for the amazingly huge amount of reviews! I can't believe this story has 28, and your lovely, kind words really warm my heart and make my day. I had to stop myself from making this chapter too long, and I know you're probably wishing you had been able to read more about Ezra's first visit to Rosewood, but all in good time – I promise. Please let me know what you're thinking of the story so far, you're reassurance and comments mean everything to me. Thanks again! – Kate xoxo**

**(P.S. Thanks to my wonderful friends on twitter, who are the most supportive and lovely people I know. You know who you are, and I love y'all!) **


	5. Things Aren't Always Perfect

**A.N. **

**Hello, this is just a quick note to address some of the questions asked in the reviews for Chapter Four. SophieLovesPLL and Guest asked if Ezra knew Aria was younger/how old she is. Currently, he doesn't know her precise age, but he assumes that she is around 21. However, things may change in the near future… ;) Anyhow, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

The sunset over New York City was much of a disappointment later that afternoon, and a thick, damp fog lay over the bay area of the city. Aria had pulled the hood of her jacket over her head, trying to avoid the wetness in the air from ambushing her neatly styled hair. It was only 4pm, but dusk was already approaching; any of the tell-tale signs of spring that had shown that morning were now long gone. It was a miracle to Aria that she was even out of work at such an early time, considering the outcomes of recent events, if they happened to be true. She had approached the sour-faced manager of the law firm only an hour earlier, her hands sweating as the obnoxious women pondered over Aria's request to leave work early. Eventually, her attention had been stolen away by a more important issue, and she had allowed Aria to close the desk an hour before usual.

Now as the petite brunette wove her way between the busy streets, she worried if taking Ezra to Rosewood with her was actually a good idea. They barely knew anything about each other's pasts, and in a way, that was what made their connection even more special. Aria worried that when Ezra entered Rosewood he would start asking questions, and she wasn't sure that she'd be able to answer them. But there was no going back now; they had already made the arrangements, and she did really feel bad about double booking him. And considering this would be her first visit back to Rosewood since the disaster at Christmas, perhaps having Ezra there would act as an anchor back to the real world. The last thing Aria wanted was to fall back into Rosewood's viscous trap.

By 4:15, she had let herself into her small apartment and was changing out of her formal work wear. She released her long, chocolate locks out of the clip she had used to keep her hair out of her face, and began to change into a pair of black skinny jeans and layered on some semi-dressy tank tops under her favourite fitted leather jacket. To complete the quickly put together look, she slipped on a pair of suede booties which had studded detailing up the sides. The outfit was more mature and less kooky than high school Aria, but still reflected the unique style that her friends knew and loved. As the minutes crawled by Aria's nerves about taking Ezra with her to Rosewood settled, and a new streak of excitement vibrated through her, the anticipation of seeing Spencer, Hanna and Emily almost too much to bear.

Her phone let out a chime, and she searched in her bag hurriedly for the device. It was a text message from Emily saying how much she was looking forward to seeing Aria later that night. She smiled and sent off a quick reply, peering out her window to check if Ezra had arrived yet. It was nearing 4:30, and if they didn't leave soon there'd be no way they'd catch the train at five. She thought back to her conversation earlier of how Ezra had reacted when she told him about her run in with Jennifer. He had seemed so genuinely hurt at how upset she was, which provoked a feeling of warmth and security to erupt inside Aria that she hadn't felt in almost a year. Of course, her friends had felt for her whenever Aria _did_ open up to them about her 'home situation', but it always seemed forced or awkward. Even then, she still lacked the sensation of empathy from her parents, something almost all teenagers were accustomed to receiving. Obviously, she wasn't stupid enough to think she would receive this from her father; he could barely even look at her without boiling over with internal rage. But it would have been nice to have been offered the security of her mother's nurturing. Occasionally Aria felt like opening up to her mother about the little things – like if she'd had a hard day at school – but she knew that she was being selfish; her mom didn't need to have anything else to worry about on top of the intensity and stress of the situation the whole Montgomery family was going through, never mind Aria's high school drama. So when Ezra had shown his concern for Aria earlier in their lunchtime phone call, she a bell had gone off in her head. Ezra Fitz really did care about her. This wasn't just some 'fling' like her friends were no doubt going to say, this connection was strong, and Aria couldn't wait to see what fate had planned for she and Ezra.

It was after four forty when Aria finally decided to pick up her purse and finally make her way down the four floors to the street level. Ezra still hadn't made an appearance yet, and she wondered if he had gotten lost. Just as she was about to pull her cell phone out of her pocket to call Ezra, she caught sight of him out the corner of her eye, his soft brown curls bouncing as he ran towards her. "Aria!" he called, just as he reached her side. She laughed at his attempt to smooth out his wild hair, the humidity of the fog having dishevelled it. "I'm so sorry I'm late! I was on my way here, and then I realised that it would be rude of me to meet your friends without having brought anything," Ezra began, as the two began to walk hurriedly in the direction of the train station. "I hope Rosé is okay? It was the best I could do last minute." Ezra gestured towards the bag in his hand.

"Oh." Panic began to flood through Aria, but she laughed nervously to cover up her shock. "Rosé sounds good," she said, her mouth twitching with nervousness. She didn't know why the thought of telling Ezra her actual age was making her so nervous, it would have been better just to get it over and done with the day they'd met. Besides, he was obviously into her, and age shouldn't make a difference to how he felt about her. Hopefully her friends just accepted the gift, and wouldn't make a fuss over it.

"Are you okay? You kinda spaced out for a moment." Ezra looked at her sceptically.

Aria nodded her head, and grabbed a hold of Ezra's hand. "Come on, we're never going to make this train in time if we don't hurry." Much to her protest, Ezra led Aria to the main road so they could catch a cab to the station, and the two were almost out of breath with the fast pace speed of the walk. When in the cab, Aria's knees jiggled with anxiety and her head craned to look out the window to see the busyness of the upcoming traffic.

"Aria, relax. We still have ten minutes to get to the station before the train arrives. It won't leave the terminal until at least five minutes past five," Ezra said, taking Aria's tiny hand in his. "Your hand is freezing!"

Aria had been busy stressing over other issues and hadn't really had time to think about how cold out it was, but now Ezra had mentioned it, her limbs were aching with a mixture of fatigue from lack of sleep and the cold air outside. She shivered on cue, making Ezra chuckle.

"Maybe this will warm those tiny little fingers up," He said quietly, lifting Aria's hand into his. He blew on her hand softly, and then rubbed her hands together inside his to create a release of warm air. The sensation of Ezra's warm breath on her skin made Aria's cheeks flush and her spinal nerves go crazy, as she looked up to his sparkling blue eyes and waited for her hands to be returned to her warm and toasty.

"It worked," Aria said, almost inaudibly as she placed her newly warmed hands into the pockets of her coat.

"What can I say, I'm a genius!" Ezra boasted, causing Aria to laugh at his mocking tone. "Look, we're almost there. And it didn't event take ten minutes." He pointed out of the window, and sure enough, the cab was pulling into a drop off bay outside of the station. This didn't relax Aria anymore, though, and she pulled Ezra out of the cab so quickly that he barely had enough time to hand the driver his fare.

Soon enough the two were seated in a carriage, waiting for the train to depart. "I told you we'd be on time," Ezra commented, a smug smile on his face.

Aria jabbed him in the stomach with her elbow. "No thanks to you, mister." She watched as Ezra cradled his stomach in mock pain, his face scrunched up like he'd smelt something funny. Aria began to giggle at the absurdness of the situation, and pulled out her phone to capture a picture of Ezra in his 'injured' state. But as soon as the shutter sounded, Ezra snapped out of his façade and reached over to grab the device out of Aria's hands. "Not so fast," Aria teased, lifting her phone out of his reach. Just as she was beginning to pull the camera roll up to view the picture, she felt Ezra's hands on her legs. She peered towards him while the photo was loading, and he began to attack her with tickles. Along her sides, under her armpits and down into the collar of her thick jacket, Ezra's hands were everywhere. And it worked, Aria's body convulsed with the tingling sensation Ezra's hands left on her and the phone dropped into her lap. "Ezraaaa, stopppp," Aria cried, fighting for breath as giggles took over her words. He continued to tease her softly only stopping when he realised that the phone was actually free of Aria's grip, and he picked up the device, examining the photo.

"How do I delete this thing?" Ezra questioned as Aria attempted to console herself out of her tittering state.

"Give it here," she requested, holding her hand out for him to hand her the phone.

Ezra snatched the phone away from her. "Not in a million years!"

"Let me see," Aria struggled in her seat, boosting herself up so she could view the screen. "Come on, it can't be that bad!"

"Believe me, it's a shocker. I'm surprised I didn't break your phone."

Aria squeezed up as tight as she could to Ezra in attempt to see the picture, and ended up practically on top of him before she finally received possession of her cell phone. She almost chocked when she caught sight of the image, bursting out laughing. Ezra looked even odder than he had in real life, and she could see why he wanted the thing exterminated for good. "Poof," she said into his ear, pressing the small trash can icon in the bottom corner of the touch screen. The photo was gone, but the memory of Ezra's face would forever be intact in Aria's mind.

The moment was interrupted by the conductor of the train, asking them to hand over their tickets. Aria was sure her face turned scarlet as she removed her body from Ezra's and slid into her own seat. Ezra felt around his back pocket and swiftly removed their tickets before passing them over to the conductor to be punched. "Thanks," Ezra said as the rather round man handed him back the authenticated tickets, and he gave the pair an odd look in response, grunting something neither Aria or Ezra could understand. She looked over to Ezra, her hand over her mouth to stifle the laugh which was sure to follow, and was glad to see he was doing the same.

The rest of the train journey to Rosewood passed without a hitch, the conversation between Ezra and Aria casual as she explained each of her friend's traits and personalities to him. "So Emily is the athletic, swimming enthusiast who is home from Danby, Hanna is the only blonde who wants to work in fashion and Spencer is the super smart, preppy, tall one who's studying at U-Penn, if I remember correctly," Ezra recalled as the pair walked off of the platform and into Rosewood Station.

"You're going to do just perfect. Oh and if you hear the girls talking about a Toby, Caleb and Paige, that's their respectful other halves. I have no idea if they'll all be there," Aria mentioned. She let her gaze wander around the station, her eyes fixed on the north exit where she had met her mother just two months earlier when she'd been home for Christmas. Her breath hitched in her throat as a veil of memories flooded back to her, how she'd left her poor mother in the middle of her father's ballistic outrage. "Come on," Aria said, gripping a hold of Ezra's hand for support. "Let's head out back to avoid the crowds." She directed him towards the back exit of the station, which lead to the parking lot. As they walked through the night time streets of Rosewood, Aria pointed out places of interest to Ezra like the old clock tower, and the gallery where her mom used to work. Soon enough, they neared the Grille, and Aria's before cold hands began to sweat with anxiety. She couldn't completely tell if she was nervous about seeing her friends, or about turning up to see them with a never before mentioned man, who was at least four years her senior.

She spotted Hanna from behind the glass window as soon as they rounded the corner of the street, her blonde waves bouncing as she talked excitedly. Aria was relieved to see that Caleb sat next to her, and as she looked into the window further she could see that Toby's arm was rested across the back of Spencer's chair. Aria failed to see anyone sitting by Emily, though and she sighed in sympathy realising that the long distance relationship her and Paige were trying obviously hadn't worked out. "Is that them over there?" Ezra spoke into Aria's ear so she could hear over the busy traffic.

"Yeah, that's them," she replied, leaning up to give Ezra a light peck on the lips, a gesture they hadn't shared this evening. She took a deep breath, opening the door to the building. "Ready?"

"Ready," Ezra confirmed, tightening his grip on Aria's hand.

* * *

*Ezra's POV*

Ezra could feel the weight of Aria's anxiety as they walked into the restaurant, and held her hand supportively. He could sense that she was having an internal debate with her mind and heart, something he had noticed she seemed to do a lot. He took in a deep breath as the warm air of the Grille hit him suddenly. He wasn't exactly nervous; he was just a little awkward and clumsy around new people, and didn't want to embarrass Aria in front of her friends.

All of a sudden, a lapse of confidence seemed to envelope Aria, and she tugged on Ezra's hand and pulled him towards the group. "Aria!" A tall, willowy framed brunette called out, sliding out of her chair to come and greet her tiny friend. Aria released Ezra's hand and he watched as she practically ran towards the girl – who he guessed was Spencer – and wrapped her in a tight hug. "It's so good to see you," Spencer said, releasing Aria. Ezra noticed Aria place a friendly kiss on Spencer's cheek, and smiled. Aria had told him earlier that she and Spencer were closest out of the four girls, although all of them were practically inseparable during high school.

Another brunette – who was even taller than Spencer and had pretty, russet coloured skin – stood closely behind the pair and engulfed Aria in an embrace. "How've you been, shorty?" The girl asked, causing Aria to giggle. Ezra smiled as he watched Aria and the taller girl who he assumed was Emily joke with each other. The height difference was quite hilarious, really.

"I'm great, Em. How are you?" Aria asked, slipping out of Emily's embrace.

"Good. School is tiring, but good," Emily replied. Aria smiled, obviously glad to be in her friend's presence.

Next was the blonde, Hanna, who was excitedly jumping up in down in anticipation of seeing her friend. Their hug was quick, as Hanna wouldn't allow Ezra to go unnoticed. "And who is this dashingly handsome man you've brought along?" She let go of Aria and walked towards him. Ezra panicked for a moment, and quickly restrained himself before his awkwardness took over.

"Ezra Fitz," He said, offering Hanna his hand, which she shook quite sincerely.

"Well, I'm Hanna Marin, and this is Spencer Hastings and Emily Fields." Hanna pointed towards the other girls, who all smiled and said their hellos. Ezra glanced in Aria's direction, hoping that she would swoop in and save him uttering something completely foolish and random. Luckily, she caught on, and slid her hand back into his.

"Ezra and I are dating," Aria said defiantly. It was the first time either of them had put a label on their relationship, and suddenly Ezra was glad that Aria had made the move to take their situation to the next level.

"Well, it's great to meet you Ezra," Spencer said, a bright smile on her face, as she lead the group over to a table in the corner where two guys sat deep in conversation. "Why don't we go sit down and get ready to order?"

There was a little bit of seat rearranging to be done, as the group obviously hadn't anticipated Aria to bring a date, but other than that, all seven of the group fitted comfortably in the Grille's corner table. Aria, Hanna and Emily sat along the window side of the table, with Ezra at the head next to Aria, and Spencer and the two guys sat along the other side. The two men had stood to greet Ezra, and he had shaken their hands firmly. He couldn't help but sense the youthful atmosphere of the group, but guessed that they were all just pretty laid back people in general. Besides, if he hadn't seen his group of friends in months, he would certainly want to relax and have a good time. Ezra was shaken from his thoughts when he felt Aria's hand squeeze his knee. "What do you want to order?" She asked, speaking into his ear.

Ezra hadn't even had time to look at the menu, and quite frankly didn't have a clue. "What do you recommend?"

Aria took the menu from his hands, her brow furrowing as she studied it. "I think…" She started, before clearing her throat and calling across the table. "Hey, Toby!"

Toby looked up from the conversation he was having with Emily. "Yes?"

"Is it the steak burger you always recommend?"

A smile crept across the young man's face. "Yeah! The meat is so succulent!"

"And Toby knows _a lot_ about his steaks," Spencer chipped in, causing she and Aria to laugh.

"So, what do you think?" Aria questioned, a glimmer in her huge hazel eyes.

"Steak burger it is, then! What about yourself?"

She pondered over her decision, chewing her bottom lip in concentration. She was unknowingly driving Ezra mad, he wanted to touch her and caress her tiny body. Kiss her soft, pink lips –

"I think I'll have the vegetarian pizza slice," Aria said, startling Ezra out of his very imaginative thoughts. He blushed red as she stared at him, sceptically.

It took a good ten minutes before the waiter made his way over to the group, obviously sensing by the large amount of chatter they were producing that they were going to take a while to order. Ezra watched as Aria smiled and joked with her friends, his heart warming at the sight of her happiness. His stomach was beginning to rumble now, though and he was thankful that the server had decided to approach their table. Each person ordered what Ezra presumed to be their personal favourites; Aria had told him previously that the Rosewood Grille had been she and her friend's favourite place to get together, so they all knew the four star menu pretty well. Aria rattled off her and Ezra's order, insisting that's she was going to pay when their personal check came. He could tell she still felt guilty about messing up their plans for their date tonight, but Ezra made sure that Aria knew that he was more than happy to be here with her; after all, any time he had with her was something to treasure and appreciate.

Ezra was so caught up in his own thoughts once again that he hadn't noticed Aria had fallen quiet next to him. Conversations were still active within the cluster of Aria's friends, but Aria stayed silent as she fiddled with the cutlery which lay before her on the glossed, wooden table. "Hey, you okay?" He asked.

She turned to face him, nodding her head yes. "Just hungry, that's all." She smiled and took her hand in his. "So, what do you think?"

"Of Rosewood? Well, from what little I saw, the town square looks very…suburban?" Ezra answered, his tone mocking. Aria's eyes lit up as she laughed at his witty humour. A lot of people couldn't quite grasp his sense of humour, and he was so glad that Aria appreciated it. She shook her head, a mischievous smile on her face, before her stomach growled and she clung her hands to it, embarrassed. Soon enough, the waiter came over with their drinks, and Ezra suddenly felt silly for bringing the bottle of wine when they were clearly going to be eating and drinking in the restaurant for the duration of the night.

Spencer suddenly turned towards Ezra and began to speak. "So, what's your major?"

Ezra felt Aria stiffen next to him, and he wondered why she had reacted that way, but before he could question it, she had begun to sip the soda from her straw quite intensely. "I got my degree in teaching last May, but so far I have lacked any job that involves informing high schoolers about the joys of the English language."

Spencer looked at him, her head tilted to the left slightly as if she was trying to figure him out. And it seemed Spencer wasn't the only one whose attention Ezra had grasped: each and every one of Aria's friends now stared at him intently, ready to listen to him as he elaborated his story.

"In other words, that means I'm out of a job. Teaching doesn't really feel like me, right now. Not that I won't ever make use of my degree; that would be a waste of time. But I much prefer writing, the freedom of getting to tell a story in your own way, you know?"

The group nodded, and each gradually began to wind into their own conversations, except from Spencer. Her eyes bore into Ezra making him feel slightly uncomfortable. Not that her stare was a bad one – it was more analysing than anything – but Ezra began to feel awkward and clumsy like a black duckling in amongst a heard of beautiful, white cygnets. And it appeared that he wasn't the only person who had noticed the weight of Spencer's stare on him; Aria had fallen cautiously silent and sat so still that Ezra had to double check she was breathing. Thankfully, Spencer soon snapped out of her daze, and Aria instantly relaxed, chugging down the rest of her Diet Coke. "Do you need another drink?" Ezra asked her, placing his hand on her bicep.

"Hmm." Aria glanced over to him, obviously lost in her own thoughts, too. "Oh. No I'll be fine, thanks. Go ahead if you want one, though."

Ezra couldn't help but notice how far away and distant Aria seemed tonight, ever since they had arrived at the Grille. Just an hour earlier they were practically on top of each other when on the train, and he grew concerned that he was disappointing Aria, causing her to not enjoy herself. Just as he was about to ask her if she wanted to get some fresh air, the server arrived with the table's food. As each person's order was placed down on the table, Ezra's mouth began to water with the irresistible aromas which filled the air around them. Aria's vegetarian pizza slice was set down in front of her, and the dish was beautifully decorated with fresh garden salad and a slice of lemon. Ezra's steak burger arrived and it was almost twice the size he had expected it to be, and was served with a generous portion of fries on the side. His mouth watered as the tender meat all but melted in his mouth on the first bite, and a moan escaped from the back of his throat in pleasure. Aria let out a laugh so loud that almost made him drop his food in surprise, and soon the whole table joined in having heard Ezra's sudden release of emotion towards the delicious food.

"Told you it was good, huh?" Toby called out from across the table.

Ezra's face heated with embarrassment, but he soon played it cool. "I think I'll be trusting your judgement in the future, then!" He took another bite as everyone else tucked into their own dishes. Conversation flowed smoothly throughout the meal for the first five minutes or so as people savoured their meal, and Ezra was interested to hear about each of Aria's childhood friends. Aria, however, seemed to have her attention fixed on something at the other side of the room, and her hand was frozen in mid-air and her mouth hung open. "Aria?" Ezra asked, suddenly worried. "Are you alright?"

After a moment, she turned her attention to him and shook her head no. "I…I have to use the bathroom," Aria whispered, slipping out of her chair and abruptly leaving the table.

The conversation in the group quietened as each head turned to see who had left the table. "Is she okay?" Emily asked, standing up to get a better view of where her friend was rushing off to. Hanna stood too, slipping out from behind the table to follow the petite brunette.

"Don't," Spencer suddenly jumped in, yanking Hanna back into her seat and warning Emily to return to hers also.

"What's going on?" Ezra asked, feeling like he was missing out on something everyone else seemed to know something about.

Emily and Hanna followed Spencer's gaze before an uncomfortable mood set in right across the whole table.

"What the hell is going on?" Ezra finally demanded, his voice raising in frustration.

"Her_ dad_ is over there," Hanna hissed, discretely pointing over to a middle aged man who stood by the bar and takeout section of the Grille.

"Oh." Ezra sat up straight, smartening out his shirt. "Should I go and introduce myself?"

This was obviously the wrong thing to say, as each of the girls stared at him open mouthed and Spencer practically leapt out of her seat at him. "Are you _crazy?_! Byron Montgomery is _not_ someone you want to introduce yourself to," Spencer practically yelled, although her voice was hushed in order not to attract any unwanted attention.

"Yeah, especially going up to him and announcing you're dating his daughter. That's practically a death sentence," Emily added, fumbling around with the remaining food on her plate.

"I guess I'm crazy then," Ezra murmured, more to himself than anyone else. Over protective father, he guessed was the most likely cause of the girl's crazed frenzy. Maybe Aria had escaped from the table because she hadn't wanted her father to see the two of them together, as she would be left with a lot of explaining to do. Ezra did see where she was coming from; if he was put in her position, he wouldn't want to have to explain to his parents that he had met a girl only a few days ago. If things didn't work out between them – something Ezra really hoped would not be the case – then why bother bringing the issue to her father's attention if it was only going to upset him? Ezra suddenly turned his concentration to the not so hushed discussion the three girls were having at the other end of the table.

"Do you think she's told him?" Hanna asked, and Spencer shook her head dismissively as she chewed on a mouthful of pasta.

"No. I mean, did you see the way she left? She seemed terrified," Emily commented, her eyes searching the room.

"No wonder she moved to New York. I wouldn't want to be in the same state as him, never mind the same room," Spencer said, her tone agitated.

"It really is a miracle she made it through last year. What she went through is something no eighteen year old should have to experience. Senior year is meant to be about parties and special occasions, not going home every night to be tossed around by her father of all people," Hanna added, her tone filled with sadness.

This caught not only Ezra's attention, but Caleb and Toby's too. "Hanna!" Spencer scowled at the blonde, annoyed.

"Wait, what?" Caleb questioned, his face a picture of confusion.

"Nothing. Forget I said anything," Hanna replied, obviously ashamed of unveiling too much information about Aria.

Ezra sat silently. He wasn't sure if he'd heard right, but had Hanna just said that Aria – the mature, beautiful and intelligent woman he had fallen for in Central Park – was just eighteen years old? It couldn't be true, could it? She couldn't be just a teenager, what they had was something he had never experienced with anyone else in his whole life. Surely this intense sense of affection and genuine passion that Aria had shown him was not the kind of emotion an eighteen year old could possess? Ezra's chair scraped against the wooden floor as he stood up from his place. "I have to go," He gasped, pulling a twenty dollar bill from his wallet and tossing it down on the tabled before hurrying out of the Grille. Apparently, that was not the reaction Aria's friend's had been expecting as they sat open mouthed at his abrupt exit.

He knew it was careless and childish, but he couldn't sit in there any longer knowing that the past four days had been a lie. Maybe he would cool off in a while, but for now all he wanted to do was forget any of this happened. In need of a drink, Ezra went in search of the nearest bar. How could this have happened? Aria was the most perfect woman he'd ever come across, yet what they had been doing was practically illegal. Why couldn't she have told him before now, then maybe he could have taken it a little better. Why did bad luck seem to follow Ezra around like a dog? He wasn't sure how they could move past this, and he didn't even want to know what this meant for him and Aria's positive looking relationship. He knew he'd have to face it at some point, but right now he couldn't think of anything he dreaded more in all eternity than the certain confrontation that would happen with Aria.

* * *

**Thanks for reading, I really enjoyed writing this chapter! I can't believe so many of you are enjoying this story, it makes me smile so much to know that you guys are interested. I know I've left this on a terrible cliff-hanger, but it'll all be worth it, I promise! I can say that this is just part one of the issue this chapter deals with, the next chapter will be an almost straight continuation of where this left off. Thank you all for your wonderful comments and reviews, they mean the world to me! Oh, and if you want more information of when I'll be updating etc., then you can follow me on twitter: WeLoveLucyyy :) Thanks again - Kate! **


	6. Aftershock

**This update has been brought to you very quickly due to the demand of my wonderful friends, MustacheYouAQuestion, WonderfulAndTragic, obsessedwithezria, Caitlin and Jenny. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Aria had been sat inside a cubical in the Rosewood Grille bathroom for a good fifteen minutes, flinching every time she heard a noise or someone came into the bathroom. She didn't have the guts to go outside and check whether her father had left; she couldn't risk him seeing her. Thank goodness her Ella hadn't been there, then Aria would have felt ten times worse about hiding. It hit her then that coming to Rosewood like this had been not only risky – this almost run in with her father a true example of that – but also extremely selfish of her. Aria hadn't mentioned a thing to her mother about returning to Rosewood for the night, and it bothered Aria immensely that the thought hadn't even crossed her mind. Yes, she had been occupied with a huge amount of other things that perhaps outweighed this issue, but she hadn't seen Ella in almost two whole months, all because she was afraid to see her father.

Her friends probably thought she was being stupid, hiding away in a bathroom just because Byron had walked into the restaurant, but although they tried their best to understand what little information Aria had told them, they knew almost nothing compared to what actually used to go on in the Montgomery household. But these memories couldn't be unleashed again now; they would only cause Aria to spend more time hiding away and wallowing in the bathroom when she really should be out there enjoying the quality time she was getting to spend with her friends. And Ezra – she had forgotten he was out there. She could just picture him trying to make awkward small talk with Caleb and Toby, or Spencer giving him a quiz on his life from birth up to this present moment. She had to go back out there; today was supposed to be special and as far as she was concerned, this was ruining it.

Aria took a deep breath before exiting the small bathroom, and rounded the corner back into the main restaurant area. She instantly relaxed when her eyes glanced over to the bar, and there was no sign of her father. Good, now all she had to do was salvage what was left of her dignity and make up an excuse to Ezra about why she left so abruptly. Only when she neared the table her group had been sharing, there was no sign of Ezra. _He's probably just using the bathroom_ she told herself. The volume of conversation dropped to non-existent as she slipped into her chair; they'd obviously been talking about her, she could see it on their faces. "Where's Ezra? You didn't scare him off, did you?" Aria asked, taking a bite of her now cold pizza.

The group was silent again, causing Aria to grow more suspicious. What on earth had happened since she'd left the table? Had her father spotted her friends and come over? "What is it?" Aria croaked, wishing that someone, _anyone_ would speak.

"Ezra…he just kind of…" Emily finally began, but then paused, as if she was unsure of how to phrase her sentence.

"He left. Ezra left, Aria," Spencer admitted, her tone grave.

Confusion hit Aria like a brick wall. Why would he all of a sudden leave? Surely he'd just gone to get some fresh air. "What do you mean, 'he left'?" Aria inquired, dropping the Pizza from her fork and pushing her plate away from her. She no longer desired to finish it.

"He just got up and left," Caleb replied, looking anywhere but Aria's face.

"No, he wouldn't just leave without telling me," Aria insisted. For the little time she'd known him, Ezra hadn't shown any sort of hints or flaws in his personality that would explain what her friends were currently telling her. "Did he get a phone call or something?" Aria said, slipping her hand into her pocket to bring out her own cell phone. But there were no new alerts, and no missed calls.

"I don't think so," Spencer said, her voice was hushed, and her face was pulled into an emotionless expression. And that's how Aria knew there was something her friends weren't telling her.

"Cut the crap, guys. What happened?" Aria asked, suddenly tired of not receiving any real answers even though she'd asked for them countless times. Something must have been said to make him uncomfortable, and she had a suspicion that her friends could be behind it. Spencer had probably grilled him too hard and it had scared him off, and Aria cursed herself for not being there when it happened. "What did you say to him?" Aria's tone was unsure, and she knew Hanna was almost at breaking point.

"We were kind of talking about your dad…and Ezra overheard us," Hanna blurted out, the first words she had said since Aria had returned to the table.

"You were talking about my dad," Aria repeated the information she had just been given. What exactly had they said that would make Ezra leave, though? A thought suddenly popped into Aria's head and she winced at the possibility of it. If Ezra had followed Byron and came in contact with him…things wouldn't end well at all. "Why were you even talking about him, anyway? What exactly did Ezra overhear?"

The girls looked at each other before Spencer finally spoke up. "We just commented on how Byron doesn't exactly treat you the best, you know? We didn't exactly mean for anyone to overhear, it just happened."

Rage suddenly boiled up inside Aria's tiny body, and her tone was sharp. "Who gave you the right to talk about my personal life, anyway? God, I trusted you. How do I know you've not told the whole town?" Aria gathered her belongings and slipped her phone into her purse.

"Aria, we're sorry. You don't have to be mad at us, please. Let's talk about all this," Emily pleaded, her desperate voice only making Aria more infuriated.

"No. There's nothing to talk about. You've all just confirmed that I obviously can't trust you anymore." She pulled on her thick winter coat and proceeded to button it up.

"Aria we've been with you through everything, we're your best friends. It was a mistake, but only us and Ezra know. Besides, it would be doing your family a favour if the whole of Rosewood knew about your dad's issues." Hanna's hands shot to her mouth as soon as she'd finished speaking, and Emily and Spencer gave their friend a less than pleased look.

"Go to hell," Aria spat, picking up her purse and exiting the Grille as quickly as her short legs would take her. Her friends called after her, but Aria ignored them; just as she was ignoring the hot tears that were brimming at her eyes. She hated fighting with her friends, and it almost never happened. She had let her emotions take over, and her defensive barrier built up just as it did whenever anyone mentioned the topic of her father. Deep down, she knew that Hanna had been right, and that was what scared her the most. But she couldn't waste time thinking about that now, she had to find Ezra and needed to know why he'd left. If anything, hearing whatever her friends had said should have technically drawn Ezra to stay, not provoke him to leave, which was why Aria was sure that something else must have happened during that fifteen minutes she was hidden in the bathroom.

She pulled out her cell phone and began walking in the direction of the town square; which was the centre point of Rosewood and ultimately led to anywhere worth going. Aria pulled up Ezra's contact information and dialled his number, her hands shaking with anxiety and tears now rolling down her cold, red cheeks from the fight with her friends. She left a voicemail telling him to call her when he didn't answer, and then furiously attempted to type a text message with her trembling hands.

"_Where are you? The girls said you left. I'm at the town square, where can I meet you? – Aria xo."_

After a few moments of sitting on a bench in the middle of the square, Aria's phone chimed with a reply from Ezra.

"_I'm at a bar, Snookers."_

The text only made Aria more confused and emotional, which caused her to wonder eve further what on earth had gone on between Ezra and her friends.

"_Are you mad at me?" _ She typed, not fully expecting a reply, but she sent it anyway before taking the short walk to the Snookers bar. Aria curled her hands under the sleeves of her jacket, and shivered as a gust of cold wind blew into her, throwing her off guard for a second. She desperately longed to feel Ezra's hand in hers right now, and knew that she had to do everything in order to win him over. Not knowing what she was walking into was the hardest part, once she was in there, seated with him, hopefully she would be able to justify any queries he had, whether they be about her family or her friends.

Soon enough, she was opening the wooden door to Snookers bar, and a rush of warm air greeted her along with the smell of stale ale. She wasn't going to chance her luck by ordering anything, so she let her eyes graze over the traditional 'pub' style bar in search of the man she was beginning to fall on love with. She knew her father occasionally came here, but not as often nowadays as this bar was usually packed with students from Hollis College, the school at which he worked. She was thankful though when on her first survey of the room she didn't come across him, but frowned when her hazel eyes didn't land on Ezra, either. Soon she spotted him sitting up at the bar, his back to the rest of the room and glass of what appeared to be scotch in his hands. Aria made her way over nervously, afraid that the conversation that was about to happen was going to jeopardize the beginnings of their relationship. "Hi," she said quietly, settling into the stool next to Ezra. He didn't look up at first, but when he did, Aria could tell he was upset. "You left." She didn't know what else to say apart from stating the obvious, and she suddenly began second guessing everything the pair had experienced over the past couple of days.

"You lied," Ezra said bluntly, taking a long sip of his drink.

"What?" Aria was shocked. Sure, she hadn't told Ezra about absolutely everything that had been going on in her life lately, but she figured that kind of thing would be shared with time. But what Aria was one hundred percent sure of is that she had not lied to Ezra Fitz, and hoped she would never have to.

"You're eighteen, Aria. You didn't think to mention that to me?

That had been something Aria was not prepared for. When coming here, she had been somewhat prepared to talk to Ezra about her father, not this. She cursed the girls; they were obviously the reason Ezra found out. She wasn't really planning on keeping her age from him in the first place, it had just kind of happened. But what Aria would have been grateful for was the chance to break the news to Ezra herself. She hadn't thought it would be that big of a deal, but apparently it was. She swallowed, unsure of how to answer him. "I…"she started, but nerves took over her and suddenly she was unable to speak. She stared down at her hands.

"Not telling me was a lie. I don't know what to do anymore, things feel different now." Ezra's tone was firm, but Aria could hears the hint of sadness it held.

"Things don't have to be different," Aria croaked, afraid that she might burst into tears.

"What we're doing is practically _illegal,"_ Ezra stated, glancing at Aria harshly.

"I'm an adult. I live by myself, I work eight hours a day to support myself, and this was all _my_ choice. And if that doesn't convince you of my maturity level then I'm sorry, but I worked my butt off to get into NYU last year, and when…certain issues arose to prevent me from attending, I didn't give up. I moved to the city against my parents will and set up a life there for myself. I work so goddamn hard that sometimes I feel like I'm about to drop dead in the morning. But that's okay, and do you know why? Because it was my choice. I knew things weren't going to be easy, and I don't blame you if you want to run away from all this, here is your free exit card." Ezra didn't speak, but he stared at her, his attention solely on her and the point she was trying to prove.

"All I know is that when we met on Friday, something inside of me sparked that I hadn't felt for a long time. And that was happiness. Yes, we met in an unorthodox way, but that's what makes our relationship all the more special and I would be really upset if things changed just because of such a minor issue like this," Aria continued, her voice beginning to waver as a lump formed in her throat. Still, Ezra was silent and he took another drink from his glass. Suddenly, Aria felt disregarded. Ezra had clearly made up his mind about her as soon as he'd found out she was just eighteen. None of what she had just said was affecting him in the way she had planned. Feeling embarrassed and defeated, she raised from her seat and began to gather her belongings.

"Look, I think you're amazing, Aria," Ezra said, grabbing a hold of her wrist to stop her leaving. "When I first met you, I thought 'Who is this girl?'" His tone was sad and his eyes were big, and Aria softened her domineer immediately.

"I'm still _that girl_, okay? Nothing's changed." She shook her head, needing to convince him that what they had shared the past few days was okay.

"Yes. Yes it has. I'm a twenty three year old man and I'm sitting in a bar with a woman…girl…who up until an hour ago I thought was the same age as me, not a _teenager_," Ezra's words were harsh, and she could tell by his face that he regretted being so severe, but they still hurt Aria.

"I know it's not just me," She shook her head, disbelievingly. "You feel like this is right for us too." Aria refused to believe that this was over, and she was going to fight for it until Ezra saw what she was trying to say.

"It's not right," He said, spinning the liquid around in his glass. Aria's heart sank and she could feel the tears beginning to push their way out of their ducts. "But who says everything has to be right?"

Aria's mouth curved into a heart-warming smile, and at that moment, she knew everything was going to be okay. "I won't tell if you don't," She teased, taking a hold of Ezra's hand in hers. He began to kiss each of her knuckles one by one, softly, as if she were a precious doll, but as soon as Aria got a taste for Ezra's passion, she pulled him out of his stool and into the bathroom before leaning up to kiss him hungrily. He kissed her back, but pulled away moments later.

"This is so wrong," he breathed, looking down at Aria's tiny frame.

"And so is this," she replied, sliding up onto the bathroom counter and wrapping her legs around Ezra's torso. She sucked on his bottom lip, causing him to moan with pleasure, much like he had earlier when eating his steak burger. Ezra returned the favour by sliding his tongue under Aria's, battling for entrance. She complied, and wound her fingers in his curly, brown locks before melting into the concupiscent kiss. They stayed like that for a while, fulfilling each other's need to be with each other. Just as they were beginning to explore each other's bodies, they were knocked out of their intimacy by a young woman who walked into the bathroom. Aria smiled into Ezra's kiss, and reluctantly pulled away. She'd never had an experience quite as heated and impassioned as this, and felt almost giddy that she had shared it with Ezra in such a forbidden way.

As if it were a mutual arrangement, Ezra lifted Aria from the counter and the two walked hand in hand out of the bathroom and exited the bar. She shivered as they entered the cold air of the night, and Ezra wrapped his arm around her instantly to shelter her from the harsh winds. It was nearing 10:15pm, and the last train back to New York City left Rosewood at 10:30, and Aria – always being a worrier – began to speed up the pace the couple were walking at in order to get them to the station in time. "What about your friends?" Ezra asked Aria as they rounded the corner to the town square.

"Train leaves in fifteen minutes," Aria commented, not wanting to think about her four best friends until she was safely tucked up in bed and alone.

"Okay," Ezra replied, not wanting to push Aria into saying anything, although he didn't even know what had gone on after he'd left. Aria knew that deep down what Hanna had said was the truth; she, Mike and her mom would all benefit from her father getting the help he needed. But she knew her mother would deny all accusations and refuse help even if Aria tried. Ella was a firm believer in family, and Aria just couldn't convince her mother to do what was ultimately right because though it was going to destroy their sense of security.

Soon enough, the pair reached the train station and hurried into the warmth of the brightly lit train. Aria took off her thick jacket and sat on the inside of the twin seats, and Ezra took the seat next to her. She stifled a yawn as she took out her cell phone. She had been awake sixteen hours, and had barely slept the night before anyway. Needless to say, Aria was spent. "You're tired," Ezra commented, lifting the hand rest which divided the two seats.

"Tired is an understatement," she replied, checking her phone. She had several missed calls from Spencer, Hanna and Emily, along with a good ten text messages, pleading that she let them know where she was. She'd get to that later though, her eyes were watering just looking at the brightness of the small screen.

"Come here," Ezra said softly, making room for Aria to cosy up to him. She complied without protest, and tucked her head under Ezra's arm and wrapped her fingers in his.

"I won't go to sleep, don't worry. Is it okay if I just lay here for a while, though? It's been a long day."

"It has," Ezra replied, playing with the ends of Aria's long, thick, wavy locks. "Go to sleep, Aria. You need it." He chuckled as she tried to protest, but admitted to herself that he was right, she was truly exhausted. Before closing her eyes, she tilted her head to give him a soft, sweet kiss on his lips.

"Thank you," She said, settling back into Ezra's arms.

"For what?"

"For staying." With that, Aria's eyes were firmly closed. She fell into a much needed slumber, with Ezra's arms wrapped protectively around her assuring her that she was in a place where she was safe, and truly belonged.

* * *

**Thank you endless amounts for reading, I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! And thank you for all the reviews, 50?! I can hardly believe my eyes. Oh, and this update comes with my wishes that you have a Happy Ezria Anniversary, and spend it re-watching old Ezria scenes and eating ice cream; I know I will be. Please review, I'd love to know your thoughts on this chapter and if you like where this story is going. Thanks again, Kate :) xoxo  
**


	7. Looking Up

Aria woke up the next morning in a daze, unsure of her surroundings and how she'd gotten there. She squinted her eyes against the bright light, and sat up in bed realising it wasn't her own she was in. She heard a faint giggle next to her, and turned to see Ezra snoring softly, releasing a chuckle every now and then. She smiled, wondering what he was dreaming about. But then it suddenly hit her that she was in Ezra's bed and not in her own apartment, and the past nights events flooded back to her.

After the train had arrived back in New York City, Ezra had shaken Aria awake softly, and much to her reluctance, she had composed herself for the walk back to her apartment. But Ezra had seen that she was basically a dead man walking, her brain still fuzzed from the small amount of rest she'd just had, and he had hailed a cab as soon as they'd exited the train station. She'd struggled to keep her eyes open on the journey home, and Ezra suggested that she just spend the night at his apartment since it was a shorter journey. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, when Aria's mind was clouded with lucidity and the weight of the long day she'd had was draining her physically and emotionally. But now, Aria felt not only self-conscious that she had shared a bed with Ezra without really knowing what she was doing – Aria had always been one to have extremely vivid dreams, and she did _not_ want to scare Ezra by off having a nonchalant, non-cognizant conversation with herself about some unimportant issue which was lingering at the back of her sleepy mind – but careless that she hadn't thought about the consequences would be from spending the night at Ezra's place when she woke up in the morning.

She pushed the duvet back off of her jean clad legs, and stepped out of the bed. Aria scanned the room, looking for her purse which she eventually saw was sitting on the kitchen counter. She gnawed at her lip nervously, her head pounding with stress; it was a Tuesday morning, and despite the late night she'd had yesterday, Aria still had to go to work today. As she pulled out her cell phone, she noticed an abundance of text messages and missed calls, all from either Spencer, Hanna or Emily. She knew she'd have to contact them eventually, but she was hurt by Hanna's words and at the girl's ignorance to Ezra's presence at the table when they'd sprawled her secrets. But she didn't have time to think about any of this, it was 7:30am and she had to be at work by 8:30, and currently she was not in a fit state to serve her duties.

Aria glanced back over to Ezra, who was beginning to stir as she moved around his apartment. She smiled in awe as his face crumpled in despair when he stretched out his cramped, stiff limbs. "You're awake," Aria said, walking over to his bedside.

"I am," Ezra replied, stifling a yawn. He rubbed his eyes with his hands before stepping out of the bed and stumbling over to the kitchen. "Do you want coffee?"

Aria did really want coffee, in fact she craved it so much, her senses became hyper aware. But there was barely any time as it was for her to get home, shower and make her way to work on time, so coffee would have to wait until later. "I can't," She groaned, wishing more than anything that she and Ezra could curl up on his couch and drink coffee together whilst watching morning talk shows. "I've got to head home and shower, then get to work."

Ezra poured himself a cup of the steaming liquid and took a sip. "Oh yeah. Wait, will you be able to get back on time? Do you want me to call you a cab?"

"No!" Aria practically shouted, and giggled at her sudden outburst. She'd taken more cabs in the past few days with Ezra than she had in her whole life, and she still insisted that walking was the way to live the city life.

"Do you have something against cabs? Because you always seem to protest when I hail one off the street," Ezra asked, a curious smile playing at his lips.

"Why take an expensive cab if you can walk for free? Besides, with the business of the streets here, you would probably save time walking," Aria answered before gathering her things.

"If you say so," Ezra chuckled, downing the rest of his coffee. He placed the cup in the sink to rinse out later. "Can I see you again today?"

She returned to his side, stretching up on her tiptoes to kiss him softly on the lips. "Of course. Meet me outside the office at six. We can get dinner together."

Ezra tucked strand of Aria's sleep dishevelled hair behind her ear, and took her pretty face delicately in his hands. "I can't wait," He purred, kissing her gently again. She couldn't wait either, and began to deepen the kiss to satisfy both of their needs. He chewed on her pink, full lips as she pulled on his bed head of hair. Soon enough, Ezra's hands began to encircle her petite waste, and that was when Aria knew if they didn't stop there, she wouldn't be going to work today.

"Ezra, I can't. I have to go to work," she moaned, her voice whiny like a child. Ezra giggled at the absurdness of the situation, and Aria joined in, picking up on his thoughts. It _was_ rather funny that she was whining like a kid about having to work, when the reality of it all was that she wanted to stay home to kiss the older guy she was dating. She was so mature in many ways, but still a child deep down, which only really showed in unfair and frustrating scenarios like this.

Aria kissed his cheek once more before making a quick exit out of his apartment and taking the elevator down to the ground floor. The air outside was crisp, with the same hints of spring breaking through as there had been the day before. She walked quickly along the busy streets in the direction of her own apartment, feeling at a loss because no matter how enjoyable things had been last night with Ezra, she'd left her friendship with the girls in a bad way. She was annoyed at what they had done, but Aria couldn't let such a small issue jeopardize their friendship. It seemed like such a small, petty reason to be fighting when the four had been through so much together, and in actual fact, their actions had only made her relationship with Ezra stronger.

Aria pulled out her cell phone and searched through her contacts until she came across Spencer. Her hand hesitated before pressing the call icon. How was she supposed to pace this? Before she could think anymore, the button was pressed, and she pulled the phone to her ear, anxiety washing over her in anticipation of the events that were to follow. The monotonous dial tone beeped, and soon the line clicked as the phone was picked up on the other end of the line. "Hello," Spencer mumbled, her throat ragged as if she'd just woken up.

"Um. Hey Spence," Aria replied, awkwardly. She fumbled with the ends of her hair as she rounded a corner onto a not so busy side street.

"Aria!" Spencer was awake now, her tone was alert and Aria could tell her friend was about to interrogate her.

"Hi."

"Where did you go? Did you get home okay? Did you find Ezra? What was wrong with him an-"

"Spencer, slow down," Aria laughed. Spencer could be really intense sometimes.

"Sorry, I was just worried about you. You could have called to inform us you were still alive." Now it was Spencer's turn to give her the cold shoulder.

"Look, I'm sorry. I admit that I didn't handle things with you guys in the most mature way, but after what Hanna said I just had to get out of there. Plus, you aren't exactly innocent. When I trust you guys with my private life, I don't exactly expect to come back and find you practically discussing it in front of my boy…the guy I'm dating." Aria hoped Spencer hadn't picked up that she'd almost said boyfriend. She didn't know where that had come from, after all, Ezra and Aria hadn't really put a label on their relationship as of yet. But it struck Aria that she _wanted_ Ezra to be her boyfriend, and the need to take this next step now was all that filled her busy mind. She wanted to feel part of something, she needed to belong with someone, and Aria knew Ezra was the right person to fulfil her needs.

"Aria, I'm really sorry that Ezra heard that. I know it doesn't help, but we honestly didn't mean for anyone else to be listening in. It was stupid; we didn't think. I hope you can forgive us." Spencer sounded genuinely upset at the tension between her and Aria, and perhaps this was another reason why Aria softened up so easily.

"Of course I can forgive you, Spence. You're my best friend, and I shouldn't have let a guy, or some stupid disagreement get in the way of what we have. I guess my emotions were just on high alert because I haven't been back to Rosewood for a while, and bringing Ezra so soon probably wasn't the smartest idea in the first place."

"I understand, Aria. Don't worry, we all go through those stages. I just hate seeing you upset, and we got worried when we didn't hear from you all night. What happened?"

There was obviously no way Aria was going to be able to dodge this question, and it had been the one she'd feared answering before even dialling Spencer's number. "I met up with Ezra. We talked, and then caught the train back to the city," Aria answered. It was brief, and she hoped Spencer would accept it as her final answer.

"So you're walking to work now?"

"No. I'm headed back to my apartment."

Spencer made a squealing sound on the other end of the phone, but Aria could hear it clear enough from here and she felt slightly deafened by the time Spencer had controlled herself again. "You stayed over at his apartment last night, didn't you?"

"Spencer!" Aria scolded, unsure whether she was ready to disclose such information about her relationship yet.

"Is he good?" To Spencer, it seemed they were just having a general conversation, but Aria was blushing as if she'd just walked into class with no pants on.

"We haven't had _sex_ yet. And even if we had, I'm sure I wouldn't be telling you while I'm winding my way through the streets of New York City," Aria responded, tittering at her friend's forwardness.

"What made you think that I was talking about that? I could have been asking if he was good at…baking, or playing the piano," Spencer joked, making Aria smile. She really did wish she'd had more of a chance to spend time with her friend's last night. Now she missed them more than ever.

"Because I know you, and your need to know every single detail about everyone else's relationships." Aria shook her head in mock disbelief at Spencer.

"I guess you're right. But in all honesty, can I tell you something?"

"Sure, go ahead," Aria replied, taken aback by the sudden serious tone Spencer had adopted.

"He seems like a really nice guy, Aria. I don't know why he left when he heard…what we said…but up until then, he showed me something that Noel didn't: true admiration. He watched you the whole time we were at the Grille. He didn't take his eyes off you once, and he was so lost when you left the table. Ezra definitely passes my judgement test."

A wash of emotion hit Aria, and she felt a lump in her throat begin to form. That had been exactly what Aria needed to here right then; reassurance. She couldn't help but feel the past few days that she was imagining all the little sweet things Ezra had done for her, but what Spencer had said proved that her judgement hadn't been clouded. Ezra really was the guy for her. "Thank you for saying that, Spencer. It means so much, you don't even know."

"Of course. There is one last thing though, then I'll let you go." Aria became wary yet again of Spencer's tone, but she stayed silent, edging her friend to carry on. "I was just concerned for the fact that he clearly left the Grille with no intentions of coming back. I mean, surely after us talking about your father, it would draw him to stay, not leave."

Aria debated whether to lie, but she knew Spencer would find out somehow anyway. Besides, she didn't want to create another calumny that could hurt their friendship. Bracing herself for a lecture, Aria told Spencer the truth. "He didn't know I was only eighteen."

"What? Well how old did he think you were, then?" Spencer said, more calmly than Aria had expected.

"I'm not really sure. Over twenty one for sure. He bought me wine at a restaurant once, so definitely of legal drinking age. He knows I didn't go to college, and to be honest that's probably the night that I realised he was the most decent guy I've ever met." Aria smiled, recalling to just a few nights ago when the two had awkwardly, but comfortably discussed a clouded version of their pasts.

"Well how old is _he_?" Spencer cried, now alert to the fact that her best friend was dating an older guy.

"Twenty three." Aria whispered, sweating up at the suspenseful situation. Spencer was quiet for a moment, and Aria wondered if her friend had disconnected the call.

"I guess if you guys are happy then I'm happy. I trust that he's a good guy. You seemed happy yesterday, and I hope we're going to see more of that because you really wear happy well."

Aria's smile grew wide at the other girl's kind words. She was glad Spencer accepted them as a couple, because she knew so many people would think that with their age gap, Ezra and Aria's relationship was just a silly little fling. But that was not the case. "Thank you, Spence. I love you, and tell the others I love them too. I'll talk to you soon, okay?"

After another round of goodbyes, the call ended and Aria couldn't have been happier that Spencer was behind her. In a way, Aria kind of relied on Spencer's judgement like she would her mother's, and since Aria rarely saw Ella it was a good thing to have Spencer's almost unconditional support.

Soon, Aria was letting herself into her small apartment, and she dodged past the humongous pile of clothes which lay in the middle of her bedroom floor and into the bathroom. She showered quickly, getting soap in her eye various times due to the quick scrubbing she was giving her hair. After drying her slender body, she dressed in work appropriate clothes and dried her hair quickly. She had exactly twenty minutes to get to work, and at least twelve of them would be used to walk there. Normally her mornings were rushed – being a teenager who did still love her bed – but this took it to a whole new level. Aria was sure she was going to be late, and after the catastrophe that had been caused yesterday, she couldn't let it happen again. "Where the hell is my shoe?!" Aria cried to herself as she hopped around the apartment trying to apply a coat of mascara to her already full lashes, whilst searching for the other suede back pump which matched the one her left foot possessed.

Finally finding it after a good four minutes of searching, Aria made her way out the door and began the speed-walk to the law firm which was just a few blocks away. After everything that had happened with Ezra over the past twenty four hours, she had almost completely forgotten the situation she'd left behind at work. Things were tense there, and anxiety crawled up Aria's skin as she neared the door of the office. She took a deep breath. She was an adult now, who had made adult choices, and she had to learn to face difficult situations like this without feeling so nervous and vulnerable. People were going to be mean and unpleasant, but unlike in high school, they weren't doing it to deliberately make her personally feel victimized, they were doing it simply because the career ladder was much like natural selection in the theory of biological beings: survival of the fittest. The career ladder was a tough one, and Aria had to remind herself that everyone was fighting to come out on top.

Luckily, Aria wasn't interested in being on top. All she was interested in was surviving, period. She needed this job to pay the rent to her apartment, to feed her each night, and to keep her warm in the winter. Of course, she didn't want to live the rest of her life like this, but for now this was the best option she had. And now Ezra was around, things were starting to look up for her socially again. No longer did she have to be a hermit who hid away in her own house each night of the week.

Aria sighed as she looked at the rather large stack of files which lay piled up on her workstation, and decided to get down to business while her attention span was still sharp. Once they were over with, she'd grant herself a texting break with Ezra. Just as she was about to log into the computer system, a woman appeared at the front desk, her face an open book. Aria could almost smell the nerves coming off of the woman, and raised from her place to see what she needed. "Is everything okay?"

The woman seemed surprised to see Aria for a moment, but soon ran her hands through her light brown, pixy style haircut. "I'm here for the interview?" She asked, her voice more composed than she looked.

"They're sure quick to replace you here," Aria mumbled to herself. Jennifer really was gone, and it was all Aria's fault.

"Sorry?" The woman questioned from over the desk.

"Nothing. I think Melanie is in her office just down the hall. Here, let me come round and walk you there," Aria said, hurrying out the back exit of the reception office and into the foyer of the law firm. "I'm Aria, pleased to meet you." She offered the woman her hand, eager to make a good first impression. If she got the job, the two would be spending a lot of time in a tiny office together.

"Maggie," the woman said, taking Aria's tiny hand with a nervous smile on her face.

"Well, I'll wish you luck on your interview. This place is actually pretty friendly once you get past all the strict attitudes most of the lawyers have. And they really value their workers," Aria said as she led Maggie down the hall and stopped outside her manager's door. "Here we are. Just relax, I'm sure you'll do great."

"Thank you, Aria. For being so sweet." Maggie entered the office, and Aria turned to walk back to the reception desk. Maggie seemed nice, and Aria definitely would be thankful to have another person to share the workload with again.

* * *

*Ezra's POV*

Ezra had spent the rest of his morning lying in bed, rereading one of his favourite books, _To Kill a Mockingbird_. Scout's naïve look on life never failed to make him chuckle, and her stubbornness kind of reminded him of Aria. He remembered the first time he'd read the story in his junior year of high school and wondered if Aria had read such a prized piece of literature, too. Maybe the curriculum had changed since he was that age, but Ezra couldn't help himself from imagining the passion and power that Aria's analysing essay no doubt had. Although Aria was yet to agree to let Ezra read some of her work, he could tell that she was a writer of high standard just by the way she spoke. The teacher in him came out whenever he heard her use of metaphorical language, and he'd be lying if he said he didn't get excited when she spoke in mock Shakespearian.

Around lunchtime, Ezra decided that thinking about Aria was just not enough. How an eighteen year old girl had so much power over him, he didn't know, but hearing her voice actually made his knees quiver slightly. She was so grown up and mature, but still so young, fragile and inexperienced, and that was exactly how Ezra liked her. He picked up his cell phone and called Aria's number, unsure of what he was actually calling for. They had agreed to meet after Aria finished work, so did he seem needy and desperate by disturbing her during the middle of the day? He severely hoped not, as the line clicked with Aria answering the phone.

"Hey!" Aria answered, her voice like a song.

"How are you this morning?" Ezra asked, imagining Aria to be walking through Central Park drinking coffee or perched on a bench somewhere reading during her lunch break.

"I miss you," She whined, much like she had this morning. "But I'm alright. Actually, I'm at lunch with my new co-worker."

"Oh. Well, I can call you afterwards then?" Ezra said, although disappointed, he didn't want to interrupt Aria's lunch if she was with someone.

"No, it's okay. She's at the bathroom at the moment," Aria replied, a chirp in her voice. She seemed happy, and Ezra smiled wishing he could see her face.

"What are you eating?" Ezra asked, picturing Aria licking her pink, full lips. This was driving him crazy. He had to see her before he injured himself.

"Sweet potato fries. They're good." He could hear her crunching down on one at that moment, and his taste buds went wild. Not only was he hungry for the taste of Aria, but his stomach began to grumble like an angry volcano. He hadn't eaten anything since last night in Rosewood. "Oh. Hey, Ezra? Maggie's back so I've got to go," Aria said, a hint of disappointment in her voice.

Maggie. The name stung Ezra slightly, having known a Maggie once in his life many years ago. "I'll see you at six?" Ezra asked, desperate for the time to pass quickly.

"I can't wait. See you soon!" Aria called, before disconnecting the call.

Ezra and Aria deliberately hadn't made any set plans for their date tonight, as recently any kind of organization the two had made seemed to get overwritten. Nonetheless, Ezra was more excited than ever to go pick up Aria from her work, and he almost drooled at the anticipation of kissing her precious lips. Something had changed after last night, and even though it should have been for the worst, it actually appeared to be for the better. Although the couple still had many boundaries to cross, they were definitely closer than ever, and words seemed to flow easily and freely between them, never forced or awkward. Sure, they still had to learn a whole lot about each other, but Ezra knew it wouldn't be long until the two were completely comfortable with each other. For now, he was happy with how their relationship was progressing and couldn't wait to caress her small hand in his tonight. He just had to find something to occupy him for the remaining hours until their date, which was sure to be a hard task because all he could think about was the feel of Aria's lips on his, and most of all, the joyful sound of her laugh in his ears.

* * *

**Hello! Thank you so much for reading. I'm sorry I've not been able to update sooner, you can go and thank my teachers for that. This chapter was kind of a filler, and I hope it didn't disappoint…but big things are coming in the near future. I'd also like to acknowledge all of the wonderful reviews you guys gave the last chapter! Some of your words were so kind, and it really meant the world to me! I really hope you're enjoying this so far, and I really do appreciate feedback and responses; it motivates me to write faster! Thanks again for all your support! – Kate xoxo **

**(P.S. I hope your date went well, Emily.)**


	8. Just Kiss Me

The time seemed to crawl at a snail's pace the rest of the afternoon, and Aria's eyes had been practically glued to the intricate, hand me down watch – a piece that had once been her grandmother's – which braceleted her thin wrist. She sighed, watching her new co-worker, Maggie try to figure out the computer system. After their lunch, the manager of the law firm had almost immediately confirmed that Maggie had won the position for the job, and Aria puzzled over how at all this was a fair award. But that wasn't anything she needed to add to her ever growing list of worries, one including her occupation for the next few days; to train the new employee. Aria had grown snappier as the day went on, and as the number of times increased that Maggie 'accidently' locked herself out of her assigned computer. She knew she was being unjust with her rash dealings of harsh, disapproving comments, but how could she have patience after explaining the same thing to Maggie eight times over?

One thing Aria had noticed about the young woman was her tense aura. She seemed very jumpy and nervous, and had barely spoken to Aria unless she was asked a question which required her to form a justified answer. At first, it hadn't bothered Aria, but Maggie's vagueness was beginning to get old after the first hour or so, almost to the point where Aria felt as if she were having to tiptoe around a sleeping baby. She was never one to judge a person right away, but Aria was beginning to wonder if it was normal for a woman in her middle twenties to be so apprehensive.

"Aria," Maggie called from across the room, her voice wary as if Aria were a vicious lion. Aria let out an exasperated sigh and slid over to the other woman's workstation on her wheeled office chair.

"What happened this time?" Aria was aware she was being blunt, but at this point she really didn't care. Maggie's neediness was all that was keeping her now from being wrapped in Ezra's warm embrace, and that was the only place Aria wished to be.

"I think I locked myself out again," Maggie said nonchalantly, as if it had become a routine. "Whoops."

Aria's temper flared, and she struggled to hold back the series of anger enforced words that could have flown so easily from her mouth. Today was _not_ the day to aggravate her. "You can just stay logged out until the morning. We're done here for tonight," Aria said, her tone as composed as she could possibly make it. Maggie stared at her for a moment, before packing up her workstation and gathering her belongings. Aria did the same, and pulled out her cell phone as she walked around the reception area. She had a message from Ezra alerting her that he was waiting outside. She smiled. In a matter of minutes her long day of stress would be over, and she would be able to let loose and relax with the person she most enjoyed spending time with.

"Aria, can I speak to you for a moment?" Maggie asked, brushing her arm against Aria to catch her attention.

Aria groaned, and faced Maggie with a prompt and annoyed look crossing her face. "Yes?"

Maggie's brow furrowed, as if she was phrasing a prophecy. "I get the feeling that you don't like me very much…"

Aria was taken by surprise at the woman's statement. "Look, Maggie, I've just been a little stressed lately. I'm sure we'll get to know each other soon enough and I'm sorry if I gave you that impression." She couldn't look Maggie in the eye, and she began to feel her palms becoming sticky with sweat, a typical response for Aria when in pressure filled situations. "I'll see you tomorrow." Aria walked swiftly passed Maggie, and made her way to the exit of the law firm, releasing a much needed breath. Luckily, Maggie didn't push her for and explanation of her answer, and Aria was more thankful than she had ever imagined she would be in such a silly, irrelevant scenario.

Her body began to relax almost immediately as she stepped out into the mild evening air. The sky was darkening, but the sun still fought to be seen and was peeking out between the prestigious high rise buildings of New York City. Aria squinted her eyes as she took the grey cobbled steps two at a time, and she eventually spotted Ezra leaning against a newspaper stand. He wore a dark, green khaki jacket and a pair of fitted grey jeans. Ezra Fitz sure knew how to dress himself, but not in a modest way, which made Aria's heart melt. She walked quickly over to him, and watched as the smile spread across his face. "Hi." Aria leaned up to give him a light peck on the lips, and Ezra kissed her back softly. The two broke apart quickly, not because they didn't _want_ to continue, but because they were currently in the middle of a people packed street and – both being introverts in denial – preferred not to have all the attention on them.

"How was work?" Ezra asked, after the two had set off on the short walk to Aria's apartment. They had decided that for quickness and ease of practicality that they would pick up a pizza from the Domino's takeout on Aria's block.

"Tedious. That new girl..." Aria began, shaking her head disapprovingly.

"Oh god," Ezra sympathised, taking Aria's small hand in his.

"She's something alright."

"I thought things were going alright?"

"She's like a timid dog, I kid you not. Anyway, let's not talk about work," Aria placed her attention firmly on Ezra, not wanting to seem self-absorbed. "How was your day?"

Ezra chuckled to himself. "Not very productive at all. I've actually been in touch with a publisher for the past couple of weeks."

"Really? That's amazing, Ezra!" Aria beamed, feeling genuine excitement that Ezra's passion was finally getting noticed, although she did feel a little smidgen of guilt hit her. She had to ask Ezra more about his writing, it was only fair that she take interest in his life. Besides, she wanted to spend the next few days getting to know as much information about Ezra as she possibly could. She felt they had a closer connection now, and that's partly what made her feel comfortable with opening up to him. She knew if she were to ask said questions to him, she would be entitled to answer them from her own perspective too, which before was out of the question. But unlike previously where she felt the need to keep her past on lockdown, she now felt content with sharing the struggles she'd faced throughout her short life.

"Yeah, I guess. But it would have been better if I'd been able to actually write something of a bigger count than two hundred words a sitting. I just can't make it work, Aria. Ideas come to me in short bursts, and before I know it I've run out of steam and I've barely written a page." Ezra seemed exasperated, and Aria could tell this was really affecting him.

"Hey," She said, looking right into his wonderful, entrancing, blue eyes that only a few days ago had lured her into his magic spell. "You can do this. Don't let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game. You are the creator, and only you can judge what your limits are. Speed isn't always the way to go, just take your time and I'm sure whatever comes out in the end will be a piece of writing that changes lives."

Ezra's smile grew wide as he kissed her softly on the nose. "Are you sure you're only eighteen? Because you speak like someone who has experienced the world for a lot longer than just those short years."

Aria grinned, squeezing Ezra's hand in hers. She was glad that they had moved past the age thing, and she would never have imagined this time yesterday that they'd be cracking jokes about it. "'Screw the formula and dare to suck' that's my motto."

Ezra smiled at Aria radiantly, a sense of admiration in his eyes, and the two walked hand in hand the rest of the journey to Aria's home.

* * *

The two had inhaled a medium sized cheese feast pizza between them, and Aria had enjoyed every morsel. They'd chatted casually and sipped away at their sodas for the most part of the night, and now Aria lay with her head in Ezra's lap as he played absentmindedly with her soft, brunette locks. Aria fixed her gaze on Ezra. His attention was taken by a sitcom he claimed was his 'favourite show', and his chest vibrated as he chuckled in sequence with the canned laughter coming from the TV. He was such an intriguing person to watch, and Aria had begun to notice little things about him that either hadn't grasped her attention before, or she hadn't really been in the position to look. She watched as his Adam's apple bobbed up and down in unison with his laughter, and how the tendons of his strong, long neck stood out when he grinned. In fact, she noticed a lot about Ezra from this different angle she was viewing him at, and this only made her realise that if she wanted to know more about him as a person, she'd have to talk to him from a different perspective.

"Ezra?" She asked, her voice hoarse from the relaxed silence the two had fallen into.

"Yes?" He replied, reaching for the TV remote to lower the volume.

"If you ever need a second opinion – on anything, but most specifically your writing – I could take a look? I don't mean to sound presumptuous, but I would be more than happy to help out." She shied away slightly, unsure if she had overstepped an unmarked boundary.

"Aria, of course you don't sound presumptuous! I would really value your opinion, actually. At the moment I feel like that is exactly what my work needs. I'm not getting anywhere, and with your guidance and motto, perhaps I can set a deadline with the publisher for the first couple of chapters."

Aria sat up and turned to face Ezra, the main weight of her body still lying in Ezra's lap. "You're so…magical," Aria murmured, pressing her lips lazily against his.

"Magical?" He questioned, his face mock confusion before sucking down on her bottom lip.

"Just kiss me," She breathed, pressing her sweet lips further into his, their tongues eventually dancing around each other in a sequenced, yet uncoordinated dance. They continued like this for a while, their kisses passionate and their breaths growing stronger before eventually Aria's hands began to wander elsewhere, and soon enough she was yanking Ezra's faded black shirt over his head. Her hands roamed on his toned chest, taking in every crevasse and every sculpted hint of muscle his body possessed. Ezra soon followed suit, and broke away from Aria's kiss to ask for permission to remove her fitted blouse. She gave a moan of sheer pleasure, which both she and Ezra took as a 'yes', and caused them to giggle. She tensed at the foreign tickle of his touch against her exposed skin, and bit down on his lip hungrily. They continued to pleasure each other in simplistic, yet passionate ways, exploring parts of each other they had yet to discover. Eventually they had to come up for air, and a sudden shyness grew over Aria as she let her hair hang over her face. This was perhaps the furthest she'd gotten in any romantically involved relationship, and as exciting and desirable as _this_ was, it was still very new and scary to her, and she couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed that she hadn't satisfied Ezra's manly needs.

"You're so beautiful," Ezra whispered breathlessly into Aria's ear, as he ran his hands in circles around Aria's bare abdomen. She shunned at his comment, although she had to admit to herself that it _did_ feel good to be given such a treasured compliment. Aria placed a soft kiss on Ezra's bare chest before laying her head down on top. She could feel the rapid beat of his heart, and as noisy and continuous as it seemed, it soothed her fully and made her feel all of a sudden drowsy. She'd had yet another long day, and the intensity of the electric filled last half hour had completely wiped Aria out. She stifled a yawn and began to cosy her way into the crook of Ezra's arm, a place where she had found herself falling asleep a lot lately. These past few nights sleep she'd shared with Ezra had been the best she'd had in a long time; usually her night tremors were a constant interruption. But not one had kept her from receiving a full six hours sleep recently. Doctors that Aria had sought advice from had often told her that changes in routines could cause such disturbances during the night, which made Aria wonder that perhaps her change in routine involving Ezra was what was curing her fearful, sleepless nights. If so, Ezra wasn't just a wonderful man, he had also healed her mind, too.

* * *

*Ezra's POV*

"Aria," Ezra murmured softly, pulling her hair back from her face. She sighed softly, as her eyes began to flutter closed.

"I'm not sleeping," She whined insistently, burying her head back into Ezra's chest. The tiny young woman had been fighting sub consciousness for the past ten minutes or so, and Ezra knew she was exhausted.

"Aria, I better let you get some sleep. It's late," Ezra said, peering at the clock which hung above Aria's book-stack. It was already past midnight, and Aria would have to get up in seven hours for work.

"No, don't go." Aria sat up, rubbing her hands up and down her bare arms to keep the chill of the cold apartment from hitting her ivory skin.

Just as Ezra was about to debate, she looked at him with tired, pleading and huge hazel eyes. "Please," she begged, her sleepy mind persistent on getting her own way.

"Okay," Ezra said, smiling in awe at how easy Aria could convince him. Besides, staying here for the night would probably be for the best; it was a little late to be venturing out on his own in a city full of eccentric night life anyway.

Aria stood from the leather sofa, and pulled Ezra up with her. She took a hold of his hand, and led him through to the simplistic bedroom, kicking numerous piles of clothes out of their path as they descended into the room. "Two seconds," she told him, and vanished off into the bathroom. Ezra could see the yellow strip of light casting a glow on the dark wood of the bedroom floor, the only light illuminating the room. He pulled off his pants – his shirt still lay tossed on the living room floor from where Aria had so furiously ripped it off him – and climbed into Aria's queen size bed wearing just his underwear. It crossed his mind that it was odd and just plain wrong for a twenty three year old man to be waiting inside an eighteen year old's sleeping quarters dressed in only a pair of boxer shorts, but that thought immediately vanished when he reminded himself of the unique and effortless connection he and Aria shared, and he let his mind rest in peace.

Soon, Aria returned to the bedroom, her hair pulled up in a messy bun and dressed in a loose pink shirt and pyjama shorts. She slipped under the duvet and instantly wriggled into her favourite spot; the area between his neck and armpit. She lay there for a moment, as if she was contemplating something to say. After a minute or so of silence, though, Ezra realised that the exquisite girl before him had fallen asleep, and he smiled at the purity and innocence of the expression her face held. Her breaths were light and shallow, making her way into a deep, well deserved sleep. "Goodnight, beautiful Aria," Ezra whispered, leaning down to press a soft kiss to her forehead before deciding to hit the hay himself. He was thankful he was able to spend these late nights with Aria, and he knew these relaxed, stress free hours would be ones he treasured the most. Not only had he made Aria's night complete by staying with her, he had further extended the enjoyment of his own. The love in Ezra was Aria Montgomery, and he was ready to take their connection to the crucial next level.

* * *

**Hello lovely people. Well, I had a homework free night for once and I just knew I had to get this next chapter posted, so here we are. Thank you very much for reading, I really hope you enjoyed it! Also, thank you SO much for all your absolutely wonderful reviews from the last chapter, they really make me smile and I take into account each and every one of them. As always, I love to hear how you guys are enjoying my story, it really encourages me to write faster and update as soon as I possibly can, so please take the time to review. Thank you again for everything, Kate xoxo. **

**-Also, a special thanks to Emily (MustacheYouAQuestion), Courtney (AllHaleQueenLuc), Emmalee (WonderfulAndTragic) and Caitlin for being so kind and special. You guys are amazing!-**


	9. Still Learning from the Road Between

_Music blared into Aria's ears through small, white ear buds as she took the short walk home from Rosewood High School. The weather was warm and humid like, causing Aria's forehead to become clammy and her clothes to feel heavy and uncomfortable as they hung limply from her body. Her hands were covered in paint smudges from the art class she had last period, a course her mother had encouraged her to take. Although Aria was substantially good at art and she enjoyed it enough, she could never quite master the amazing skill and technique that seemed to come naturally to Ella. Aria preferred to express herself through creating an alternate universe of her own in her writing, and that was truly a place she felt safe and comfortable._

_Dread filled the pit of her stomach as she neared the front porch of the Montgomery's typical Rosewood suburban home, and she pulled out her ear buds anticipation the uncertain situation she was no doubt about to enter. Aria pushed open the front door and expected to see her mother fussing around in the kitchen, her brother doing his homework at the table and her father sitting in his study, catching up on work he'd been unable to finish over at Hollis. But as she entered the hallway and reception area of the grand house, no one appeared to be around. "Hello?" she called out, before proceeding to the kitchen to make herself a snack. _

_The absence of her family bewildered Aria, but she couldn't help but feel relieved that she was home alone. She had a bunch of homework assignments to get done, and it would be significantly easier to concentrate knowing her father wasn't around to disturb her._

_Aria didn't exactly blame her father for his actions, he was just pent up and angry, and what Aria had done was an unforgivable thing. In a way, the one-sided screaming matches her father and she took part in was a welcomed response to keep her from going insane with guilt. She knew she'd done wrong, and by her father letting her know just how much that had jeopardized their relationship, Aria felt that she was fulfilling her punishment. _

_However, these feelings of guilt and acceptance of her father's cruel words ended the day his palm came in contact with Aria's cheek. Both she and Byron had been shocked at the response, and he had frozen for a moment, his mind seeming to have travelled elsewhere. Soon enough, he had told Aria to go to her room and she hadn't seen him for the rest of the night. She had been more afraid than injured, she'd spent the rest of the night hidden under the covers of her bed and had been unable to face her mother until the next morning. Her thoughts had been wild that night, the main dominance being that her relationship with her father was anything but normal, yet she was too scared to do anything about it. _

_Now, Aria made her way upstairs carrying a bowl of Froot Loops and a mug of steaming hot coffee. She planned to do homework for an hour or so and then grant herself a break to write at her own leisure. But apparently, her schedule was to be wiped clean. She kicked open her bedroom door only to yelp in shock to discover her father sitting on the edge of her neatly made bed. Aria almost dropped her cereal bowl with shock, and her mouth filled with copper tasting saliva where she'd bit down on her tongue. She composed herself, and walked over to place the bowl atop of her desk, keeping one eye on her father at all times. He watched her carefully, and waited until she was free of all objects. "Your mother has decided to take Mike to the movies," He said, his tone agitated. _

"_Oh." Aria didn't know what else to say, but obviously this was the wrong thing. She closed her eyes, and began to prepare herself for another of Byron's freak screaming matches, telling herself again and again that it would be over soon. _

"_She has also decided that it would be best if she and I spend some time apart. Because apparently things just 'aren't working at the moment'," Byron said sharply, raising from the bed. "And I wonder why that is?"_

_She knew where this was going. Aria and her father had had this conversation several times before, and it usually ended with Aria being the victim of a harsh dealing of words. As Byron began shouting, all she could think about was how she couldn't wait to leave this house. This town, in fact. She had to get out of here as soon as senior year ended, there was no choice in the matter. _

_Ten minutes passed and the one sided argument still hadn't ceased. Aria stared numbly at her father, her hands shaking with fear and tears beginning to pool at the corners of her large, hazel eyes at the intensity of his vocal chords. She wanted nothing more than for her mom and Mike to arrive home any minute and save her from this terrifying atrocity she called her father. _

"_SAY SOMETHING!" He yelled, the walls seeming to shake around Aria with his clamorous tone. _

_Aria began to tremble quite severely, her body convulsing in a series of tensed spasms as she tried to look anywhere but the frightening man's face. "I have to go," she breathed in a barely audible whisper, before turning quickly to exit her bedroom. _

_But Byron grabbed a hold of her slender wrist before she had the chance to take two steps. Hot tears began to flow freely from Aria's tear ducts and huge sobs erupted from inside her chest. "I don't know what you want me to say, Dad. You had an affair with a woman that isn't my mother, fully knowing what the consequences may be. And I'm sorry that I happened to find you making out with her, I'm sorry that I ruined your relationship with her. Why don't you leave and go running off to Meredith, she's obviously worth more to you than your own family who has been covering your tracks for over a year, huh?" _

_Byron's eyes flittered for a moment, the surprise of his daughter's crazed evaluation of the situation taking him aback. But all too soon that sense of minuscule affection disappeared and he was staring down at Aria with a look of hatred that she had never experienced before. "That is not true, Aria. Don't make accusations like this, they could hurt a lot of people, you know." Aria stared at him open mouthed, in awe of his hypocrisy. Could he get anymore twisted? Just as she began to open her mouth to speak, Byron jumped in, his tone sharp. "Just remember it was _you_ who caused this mess. You and your insightful decision to stab me in the back when I trusted you." _

_The two started at each other for a long moment, and all the previous doubts Aria had ever had about her father being correct began to come flowing back to her. Maybe if she had kept her mouth shut, their family wouldn't be such a terrifying place to be? As if she needed any more confirmation that she was the home wrecker in this situation, Byron walked over to her, coming so close Aria could smell his alcohol tinted breath. "_You _tore this family apart, Aria. And I'll never let you forget it." He shoved past her roughly, causing Aria's back to collide with the doorframe. She expected someone to come to her assistance when she yelped in pain, but of course she was stupid to think that anybody could care for her in this house after what she had put them through. Her toiling sixteen year old mind was tired, frustrated and anything but youthful with her experience so far in the adult world. Unknowing what to do, Aria lay in the same position for the rest of the night, her back throbbing in sharp pains each time a muffled sob made it way up her swollen throat. She had hurt her family only by trying to do what was right, and she couldn't think of anything that could possibly make the situation worse than what it already was, and if said scenario were to happen, Aria didn't know if she wanted to be around to face it._

* * *

Ezra had been sat up in Aria's bed for over ten minutes now, anxiety and fear filling his body as he watched the young woman thrash around the bed unconsciously. He worried at first that she was having some sort of seizure, but soon dismissed this when Aria began to murmur incomprehensible words in a crazed manner. "Aria," Ezra called softly, beginning to shake Aria out of her lucid state. When she gave no more response than an outburst of sobs, Ezra began to wonder if she was really sleeping at all, but that was soon confirmed by her heavy breathing. "Aria, sweetie, wake up. You're scaring me," Ezra pleaded, rubbing Aria's side comfortingly.

No longer than ten seconds later, Aria awoke with a start, her breath catching in her throat and her eyes huge as they gazed around the room fearfully. Although Aria was awake, this now didn't seem to relax Ezra any more than when she had been convulsing in her vivid dream. As her wild eyes caught sight of him, her domineer softened and she all but fell into his open arms and buried her face into Ezra's bare chest. Hot tears began to run down her flushed cheeks and Ezra knew that Aria must have suffered from a terrible nightmare. "It's okay, Aria. I'm here, I'm not going anywhere, okay?" he soothed, rubbing her back in small circles as if she were scared toddler.

Aria's body shook with the deepness of her sobs, and her skin began to feel feverish and sticky. Ezra had no idea what was going on, but he knew Aria needed him right now, and he was going to stay with her for as long as she needed him. Seeing her so distraught like this scared him massively, and he was eager to get Aria to open up to him about her nightmare. When her sobs had reduced to no more than hushed whimpers, Ezra began to slide out from underneath Aria to stand up. "Where are you going?" she croaked frantically, her face pulled into a hurt and confused expression.

"I'll be right back. I'm going to get you a cold glass of water and some Tylenol for your fever," Ezra reassured her, placing a soft kiss on Aria's forehead.

"Hurry," She pleaded, her voice breaking, a result of her choked up sinuses from crying so heavily.

Ezra rummaged around Aria's bathroom cabinet, looking for any medication he could possibly find to reduce her fever. When he came across nothing but a bottle of children's pain relief medication, he took that and filled up a glass of water. Just as he was exiting the bathroom, his eye caught sight of a package lying on the counter by the sink. At closer examination, Ezra discovered that the package contained a prescribed dosage of sleeping pills, made out for Aria Montgomery. He wondered if events like tonight happened regularly for Aria, and made a mental note to ask her about it at a later date. He didn't need Aria feeling insecure and embarrassed that Ezra had found her tablets tonight, and was determined to relax Aria fully and take care of her as much as she needed – weather it be mentally or physically.

As Ezra made his way back through to Aria's clothing-cluttered bedroom he saw the little brunette was sat up in bed now, her knees pulled to her chest and her head resting across them. "Here you go," Ezra said, setting down the glass of water on the nightstand and filling the medicine spoon with green coloured, viscous syrup. "Open up," he cooed in a slightly cheesy voice, but instead of smiling like Ezra had expected her to, Aria only complied to his request numbly, her eyes looking as if they were about to brim over with tears again. After Aria had taken the medicine and had several sips from the water glass, Ezra finally allowed her to snuggle into him. He folded his arms around her, creating a protective cage which he hoped would give her a sense of security to open up to him about what exactly had happened in her dream to cause her to get in such a state.

Just when it seemed like Aria wasn't going to begin conversing, she turned slightly to face Ezra, her face honest and raw. "Thank you for being here, Ezra. I really need you just now, and I'm sorry I'm such a blubbering mess. I know you didn't sign up for this kind of chaos when we met, but I just want you to know that no matter what happens, I think I kind of love you."

Ezra was captivated by Aria's words, and her honesty made Ezra realise that he had managed to break down the walls of a very secretive and unsure woman. This was so real and so truthful, causing Ezra to smile in awe at Aria's revelation. "I think I kind of love you too, Aria. I'll be here for you always, and I'll be here to listen when you're ready to open up to me."

Aria stiffened slightly, and Ezra wondered if he'd perhaps been too forward. "Ezra I –"

"Aria, you don't have to tell me anything tonight. It wasn't my intention to make you feel uncomfortable." Ezra interrupted, wanting to take things as slowly as Aria needed.

Aria began to sit up, and took Ezra's hand in hers. "I feel now that we are in a place where if I don't tell you soon, I never will. I can't keep putting it off."

"How about you tell me about your dream first? Did something bad happen?"

Aria nodded her head yes, and bit down on her lip to avoid tears falling. As she recited the events of her horrifying nightmare, Ezra's heart broke in half knowing that not only did she have to go through such a terrible and appalling few years, but that she had to relive it more often than not in a series of intense and frightful dreams. Although Aria's descriptions of her relationship with her father was vague, Ezra could tell there was an elephant in the room she was trying to avoid. She furiously wiped away tears as she told him of the cruel words he used to say to her, and her selflessness towards the situation amazed Ezra more than anything. All Aria had done had been to try and better her family, yet her father had somehow made her believe that she was the bad one and the sole cause of all this mishap and pain. As Aria recapitulated various events of her mid-teenage years, a thought hit Ezra like a smack in the face. He suddenly felt as if all the guilt in the world was surging through his veins, and his heart broke knowing that he had been too self-absorbed in his own frenzy of now non-relevant events to realise what Aria's friends had been trying to tell him that night at the Rosewood Grille. "Aria," He said shakily, interrupting her mid-sentence.

She fell silent, awaiting what he was about to say and still knotting her hands together like a bag of nerves.

"Did…did Byron ever…" He couldn't say it. What if he was wrong and offended Aria? He didn't want that, not right now when she was in such a fragile and vulnerable state. She had been careful to try and justify reasons why her father would be arguing with her in each point she made, but Ezra knew for a fact that she was glamourizing the issue, only because she was afraid Ezra would think less of her for coming from an unpleasant family upbringing.

"Hurt me?" she finished for him, looking up towards Ezra with her gaping, hazel, fear filled eyes.

Ezra sighed, knowing that his presumption must have been true. How could anyone do such a thing to his tiny, wonderful, intellectual Aria?

"Only twice," she said quietly, finally, almost, as if this was the end of their conversation. She leaned over to the nightstand and pulled the metal cord to dim the bright light of the lamp, and then settled back under the covers.

Ezra was in a state of agonising shock, and a sudden bout of rage enveloped him. How _dare_ someone hurt Aria, especially her own father who was supposed to be the man who cared for her most and idolized her. He was going to make Byron Montgomery pay for his actions. He didn't know how or when he'd get the chance, but hearing what Aria had been going through for a good quarter of her short life made Ezra sick to his stomach. She must have been terrified, and no one had been there to protect or care for her afterwards.

"Ezra, are you okay?" Aria asked, her voice vibrating through her back and into his chest.

"I'll never let anyone hurt you ever again, Aria. I promise. It breaks my heart to know what you've been through, and I don't want anything of the sorts to ever happen again." Ezra placed a firm kiss on the back of Aria's head, inhaling the sweet scent of her shampoo; a new favourite essence of his.

"Ezra, I wouldn't have told you if I knew it would make you feel like this. I don't want this to change anything between us. I'm still the same person I was this morning. Just because I told you this doesn't mean you have to treat me any different from before, okay?"

"Aria –"

"I know what you're going to say. Now shush. Thank you for understanding, listening and caring more than I could possibly ask you to, but its 5am and I have to get up in two hours for work, so I'm thinking we should sleep now," Aria said, her witty sense of humour seeming to make a guest appearance to lighten up the heavy mood.

Ezra settled for this, knowing that he would be exhausted all day if he didn't get to sleep too. "I love you, Aria," he whispered softly into her ear, entwining their hands together to let Aria know that his gesture was real

She pulled their joined hands towards her and kissed Ezra's knuckles sweetly before settling down to sleep. "Love you too, Ezra," she said so softly, Ezra almost didn't catch it. But he heard her, and no matter how dysfunctional and unorthodox they both were, Ezra knew that this was possibly the happiest moment of his whole entire life so far.

* * *

**Hello, thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter; it was very emotional for me to write and I somewhat channeled a lot of my own mixed up feelings into it too. This chapter really means a lot to me for various reasons, and I really hope it is perceived in a way that we can all grow from our mistakes that might not be so wrong, just as Aria is learning to do. (Wow, that was really deep haha) But anyhow! Thank you SO much for the wonderful reviews and feedback I received on the last chapter, I've been smiling for days with all your lovely comments and reviews! I'm really excited to share the next chapter with you, so please review to give me motivation to write instead of do homework! Thanks again - Kate! xoxo**

**(Also, thank you to my best friends for being so loving, caring and fabulous. You know who you are!) **


	10. Baby, You Sound Good to Me

After a few hours of undisturbed sleep, the shrill beeping of Aria's pre-set alarm awoke both she and Ezra in a state of panic. She bent over and began to smack the irritatingly loud device, searching for the button which would silence it. Her head pounded with the little amount of sleep she had gotten the previous night, and the blatant awakening she'd just received wasn't doing her any favours either. Eventually, the alarm clock quietened and Aria sunk back beneath the covers, wrapping her small body in her arms to keep warm. "Hey," Ezra whispered softly into her ear. "Don't you have to work?"

Aria groaned at the thought of having to leave the treasured safe haven that was her bed, and the idea seemed especially unpleasing today, considering Ezra was laying right beside her. "No," she mumbled sleepily, her vocal chords deep and horse from being unused for the past hours.

Ezra sat up and pulled the duvet back from her small body. "Aria. You'll be late."

"Hey!" She immediately unfolded herself and went to pull the bedding from Ezra's grasp. "Give me that." Aria dived across to Ezra's half of the bed, planning to pull the cover from him and secure it back around her chilly body, but before she even had the chance to finish contemplating the idea, Ezra had thrown the duvet onto the floor, leaving the bed dressed in nothing but a cream coloured sheet and four pillows. "Asshole," Aria spat, a hint of sarcasm pulling at the edge of her groggy morning voice.

"You'll thank me when you arrive at work on time, I'm sure," Ezra said teasingly, pressing a soft kiss on the back of Aria's head. She sighed, knowing he was right. She really couldn't miss work.

Feeling slightly more awake than she had five minutes ago, Aria hopped out of bed and made her way to the small bathroom which was connected both to her bedroom and the main living room of the apartment. She slipped out of her nightclothes whilst waiting for the water to heat up, a task she'd long gotten used to since she had moved into a substantially old apartment building. Just as she was about to step into the tub, she caught sight of Ezra staring at her reflection in the mirror from his spot on her bed, and her face flushed red with embarrassment. Had he been watching her the whole time? She dared to think about it, terrified in case Ezra thought she looked childlike and podgy compared to the older, more experienced women he had been used to dating prior to their meeting. However, recalling the events that had gone on in the early hours of the morning, she dismissed any thought of his stare being judgemental. Ezra had told her that he loved her, and she honestly believed him and felt comfortable returning the gesture. She had opened up to him more than she would ever have imagined herself to, and she was glad Ezra understood and appreciated what she had told him about her past.

After a good three minutes the water was eventually of adequate temperature and she stepped under the steaming spray of water, washing away the night of feverish nightmares. Aria wished she could erase these painful and terrifying memories this easily but, unfortunately, she had to accept that her past would haunt her for the rest of her life. Perhaps with Ezra around, things would get easier. He'd helped her a great amount after last night's event, and Aria hoped that even just his presence would affect her night tremors for the better.

Ten minutes in the shower passed like seconds as Aria sung the words to her favourite song, and massaged her hair with shampoo and conditioner and when the time came to exit the warm sanctuary, Aria could hardly bare it. Soon enough she accepted that this was, in fact, a midweek working day and slipped into her fluffy lilac bath robe, beginning to go about her usual morning bathroom routine. She applied soft, daily makeup, making sure to lighten up the shade of her eye shadow (a feeble attempt to link her look to the spring-like weather outside) and applied a generous coat of mascara to trick outsiders into thinking she'd had a peaceful, undisturbed eight hours of sleep. She hurriedly towel dried her hair and pulled it round into a low side ponytail, adding an animal print hair tie to spice up the rushed hairstyle.

Aria quickly finished up in the bathroom and anxiously made her way out into the bedroom. She'd long ago told herself that she had nothing to be embarrassed about, but still she couldn't help but feel a little awkward that Ezra had caught her in the nude. When she arrived in the cluttered room, she was surprised to find Ezra absent from his spot in her bed, the sheets rumpled from where he'd been lying. Aria quickly got dressed, her mind buzzing with possibilities of where he might have gone, and then went into the living room. Just as she rounded the corner, she spotted Ezra – still in dressed in his underwear, although he had slipped on his T-shirt from the day before to compensate for Aria's cold apartment's lack of good central heating – sitting cross legged on the couch, his nose firmly buried in a book from Aria's prestigious stack of novels. When she made her presence known, he looked towards her and hurriedly shut the book, seeming to make a mental note of the page number he was on before placing it in his lap. "Hey," He smiled, walking over to the kitchen area of the apartment. "You seem to have run out of coffee," Ezra stated, beginning to search the cupboards in case he had missed a secret hiding spot for the couple's favoured beverage. Aria cursed herself for forgetting to buy a package. She had begun to miss her routinely morning coffee after not having had any in her house for the past few weeks. "In fact, you seem to have run out of quite a lot of groceries except for pasta, tins of soup, granola and milk," Ezra said as he closed the overhead cupboard, and turned around to face Aria questioningly.

"I get my pay check on Friday. I was planning to go to the store then," she replied, keeping herself busy by pouring a bowl of granola. It was the truth, she had planned to go sometime this week, but with all the money she had spent on train tickets, taxi fares and significantly more expensive dinners than she was used to, little money had been left over this month to buy the much needed necessities.

Ezra seemed sceptical of Aria's statement, and came to sit by her at the breakfast area. "Aria. Your cupboards and fridge are practically empty, I think you're going to need some food to eat between now and Friday evening."

"I'll be fine," Aria snapped, suddenly defensive. How exactly was it _his_ place to tell _her_ what to do? However, a look of hurt washed across Ezra's face as soon as she'd finished speaking, and she instantly regretted her harsh attitude. "I'm sorry, Ezra. I'm just tired and grumpy. I shouldn't have taken my sour mood out on you." She leaned over and placed her hand on top of his affectionately, hoping more than anything that he would forgive her for waking up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.

"It's okay," Ezra smiled sympathetically, before stifling a yawn. "I guess you and I both need to catch up on some sleep!" he chuckled, and Aria joined in.

"Why don't you just sleep here for a little while? I can tell you need it, and if I were you, I wouldn't want to have to walk twenty minutes in the cold only to go back to bed again," Aria suggested, washing out her empty bowl of granola in the sink. When Ezra began to protest, she interjected, pulling out a set of spare keys from her purse. "Here." She slid the keys across the counter to him, and he reluctantly took them. "Now sleep! I'll call you later, okay?" She said, placing a soft kiss on his lips before making her way out of the apartment. She hoped she hadn't seemed too forceful and demanding, but this was the least she could offer after all Ezra had done for her in the early hours of the morning. Now all she had to do was get through the long day of work, and although she was feeling rather cranky because of her lack of sleep, she vowed to herself that she would be more understanding and welcoming to Maggie. After all, Aria had once been in the exact same position, and it wasn't all that long ago, either.

* * *

*Ezra's POV*

After Aria had left the apartment for work, Ezra lost the battle against drowsiness and reluctantly retired through to her perfectly untidy bedroom to rest. He planned only to sleep for an hour or so, but by the time his internal clock woke him, it was almost 11am. Feeling a little disorientated and out of place, he sat up in bed until he came to his senses. Ezra stretched out his stiff limbs, but paused when he caught sight of a deep purple, leather bound journal. Before he knew it, the object was in his hands, and he had unfolded the front cover so quickly, it was as if he were an addict and this book contained the illegal substance he was so desperate to get his hands on. In a way, this comparison could be seen as the truth. This journal was Aria's, and she hadn't given him permission to read it. But ever since he had found out she was also an avid writer and worshiper of the English language, Ezra couldn't help but feel like he simply _had_ to find some of Aria's work to read, or else he would go crazy. He was aware that by reading this, it was possibly breaking all the unspoken privacy rules a couple were supposed to share, but she would understand if she ever found out. Aria was usually good with things like that.

Eagerly, Ezra pulled back the first page of the journal, the paper crinkling with the creases Aria's sharp pencil had made as her curling script formed sophisticated words and created prolific sentences. Ezra's eyes grew wide as he took in Aria's work: her writing was faultless and her use of descriptive language was remarkable for someone of such a young age. When reading a section of what appeared to be a section of a short story, Ezra managed to shut off his inner English teacher and read the piece for what it really was. He felt severe empathy towards the main character, Violet, and became teary at the honesty and rawness of Aria's writing, something he had often found difficult to experience with an unpublished work. But with Aria's writing, even just reading a short few pages was enough to evoke emotions he hadn't felt in years. Again, he was in awe of Aria Montgomery, and by secretly reading her journal, he had been inspired to continue with the novel he had started, and he knew now that Aria was truly right in what she had told him that first night they'd met: "_Your passion always fights through, and will always bring you the most success. No matter how hard you try to defer it, it'll be waiting for you whenever you're ready."_

Ezra was ready now, and he sure hoped that his writing was ready to fight through too, because he was going to be knuckling down and spending a lot more time focusing on his work. He couldn't keep procrastinating forever. Soon enough, his father's inheritance would run out and he really would have to find a real job. But Ezra was determined to make this work for himself, and with the help of Aria, her comforting words and encouragement, Ezra really hoped he would be able to achieve his dreams.

A half hour had passed with Ezra lost in his thoughts, and eventually he forced himself out of Aria's queen sized bed. For the small size it was, the bed sure was comfortable, and Ezra felt he wanted to get back in as soon as he left it. He showered quickly, washing himself in the only unscented soap he could find and tried to leave the bathroom in the same clean and tidy state he had entered it in. He dressed himself in yesterday's clothes, and searched Aria's drawer for the least feminine pair of socks he could possibly find. He came across a pair of standard, black socks, with only a purple pattern on the toe and heel area of the fabric, and slipped them on his feet and then into his shoes. While he had been in the shower, he had recalled the conversation he and Aria had earlier that morning, over breakfast. She had seemed overly defensive when Ezra had challenged her on the absence of groceries in her cupboards, and Ezra hadn't been fooled by her dismissive attitude to the subject. He had a haunch that Aria either budgeted her money way too much, or actually was slightly toiling. He imagined how she could be struggling; coming to live in a big city so young and having to completely fend for herself. It was a hard thing to do, and that was probably why she resented luxuries like cabs and expensive restaurants. Ezra worried for her health with what little, and not very nutritious foods she ate, as well as having to deal with all the pain and anxiety of her past burdening her in her dreams. If he couldn't physically do anything to help Aria with her emotional stress, he could help her out by buying her some decent groceries. Besides, he had spent the night in her apartment and had eaten from her pocket, the least he could do was replace what he had taken and give her a little helping hand by purchasing her some good food and essential items.

Only ten minutes later, and Ezra was walking along the streets of the bustling city. The air seemed to be getting warmer and warmer as each day passed, almost as reflection of the growing love he and Aria were developing for each other. As he approached the supermarket, Ezra made a mental list of items he planned to purchase that he thought would sufficiently fill Aria's cupboards. It was only a short four minute walk to the closest grocery store, so he would be able to carry a larger amount of shopping than he had initially thought. It crossed his mind that it may perhaps be a little forward of him to presume Aria was struggling with her money at the moment, but in the end, he knew she would be grateful for his help anyway.

He entered the grocery store, expecting the place to be quiet considering the working hours, but the shop was thriving with people and it almost seemed to be a meeting place for mothers with toddlers or senior citizens coming to collect their weekly magazine subscriptions. Ezra smiled awkwardly as he passed two conversing older women and made his way to the fresh produce aisle. He picked up a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables, and continued to wander around the supermarket absentmindedly placing any groceries he would usually buy for himself into the shopping cart. He made sure, though, to pass through the cereal aisle and grab a box of Froot Loops, which he had learned to be Aria's favourite. He smiled at the thought of their first real heated moment, almost reliving the memory of Aria's soft, full lips on his, and the smell of her sweet breath against his ear.

Ezra's phone vibrated in his jacket pocket, shaking him out of his lustful thoughts. It was a call from Aria, and Ezra was eager to hear her voice.

"Hey," he greeted her, but was almost cut off by Aria's rushed and frantic tone.

"Okay, I know I said Maggie was annoying and a drag, but her mom was just involved in a car accident and she has to leave work right away."

Ezra paused for a moment, his head buzzing trying to understand Aria's stressed voice over the loud music of the supermarket. "That's awful, Aria. I really hope everything works out okay."

"Me too. But that's not why I called. She has a seven year old son, and he is in school right now. Maggie has to travel out to Delaware, and she asked if I could pick him up and watch him until she gets home. I know it's far from ideal, but the woman was in tears, Ezra. I couldn't say no," Aria sounded defeated, almost as if she was sad herself for this woman she had so profoundly expressed her displeasure towards only the day before. In all honesty, if it were Ezra's child, he would never leave him with someone he barely knew. But if this was something that meant a lot to Aria, then he would do anything to help her out in this difficult and awkward situation she had been put into.

"I know. I'll help you, too. We can manage to keep the little guy entertained for a few hours, right?"

"You're a star! Thank you so much, Ezra. I really don't know what I'd do without you," Aria replied, and Ezra could almost feel the smile on her face.

"Of course. I'll meet you outside your work at six?" Ezra asked, heading along the cookie and candy aisle of the store to pick up some snacks for their night of babysitting.

"Three, actually. I have to pick Malcolm up from school at 3:30pm so I'm leaving work early."

Ezra was surprised that her manager – who Aria had portrayed to be very strict on timekeeping – was allowing her to leave three hours early, but he dared question her right at this moment when she was obviously stressed, anxious and nervous about their job for later on. "Okay. I'll see you then."

After the two had said their goodbyes, Ezra picked up a few last things from the store and went to the checkout to pay for his purchases. He hadn't been keeping track of the price, but by the time he had added all of the snacks and treats for the child they were watching tonight, the price of the load had risen considerably. That didn't matter to him though; he was doing this for Aria because she genuinely needed it, and the fact that she hadn't asked for it made him even more eager to help out.

He knew this would be a change for he and Aria to spend their night with a child, and Ezra couldn't help but think about the possibility of ever becoming a parent with Aria. Not anytime soon, obviously. Aria had just left behind her childhood, and she needed a chance to grow up and experience new things herself before having to take on another heavy load of responsibility with a child. Plus, Ezra wasn't sure he was completely ready to give up his life as a wannabe bachelor quite yet, anyway. But when the time came, Ezra was sure that he wanted Aria to be the one to mother his children. He couldn't think of anyone who could be a more perfect mother, and of course he would do anything and everything to help out. One day, they'd move into a cosy townhouse and live happily ever after with their children and pets. But for now, the love Ezra and Aria had for each other was enough to keep them bound together in a whirlwind of ever changing surroundings and scenarios. And Ezra was sure that tonight, spending time together with an inquisitive child, would change their view on their relationship for the better.

* * *

**Hello! Thank you for reading and staying with me throughout this story. I am completely and utterly overwhelmed by the amount of feedback and reviews I've had. I had never expected to get 98! Okay, so before you all shout at me, I just want you to think about what Maggie and Malcolm's addition to the story is going to evoke in Aria and Ezra...not everything is always as it seems ;) Anyhow, please leave me a review to tell me your thoughts on this chapter, they honestly mean the world to me and encourage me to keep going! Thanks again - Kate :) **


	11. Turmoil

Guilt and empathy had flooded right through Aria when she had watched Maggie receive the news that her mother had been in a car accident, and Aria's heart had crumpled right as the other woman's eyes had flooded with tears of fear and uncertainty. So, when Maggie had begun to try and explain the unfortunate situation that had been revealed to her, Aria told herself that she was going to be a good person, and most importantly, a friend to Maggie in this hard time she was going through. But when Maggie had so forwardly asked Aria if she could watch her seven year old son, she had been more than a little taken aback. "Are you _sure?" _Aria had automatically asked, doubting at first Maggie's sanity to leave her child with an almost complete stranger, and also her own child-caring skills; she had only ever had one babysitting job in her life, and she'd never been asked back, a gesture that Aria took to be a bad sign. Maggie had given Aria a questioning look, which caused her to remember the vow she'd made to herself earlier that day to be a better friend to her new co-worker, although this favour she was doing for Maggie required a lot more responsibility than Aria had anticipated she'd be asked of on their first day of friendship. Maggie's face broke the indecisive state Aria had fallen into, though, and Aria agreed to help out in any way she possibly could.

Now, she and Ezra sat in a taxi cab on their way to collect the little boy from an elementary school in Astoria, and Aria grew more anxious than ever as the car journeyed further out of Manhattan and the fare rose considerably higher each minute the cab was stuck in rush hour traffic. It was almost as if her reluctance to take a cab anywhere had become a phobia. "We're not going to make it on time," Aria worried aloud, noticing the tailback of traffic they were stuck behind.

Ezra grabbed her hand soothingly and rubbed small circles on her palm as he reassured her. "Relax, we still have fifteen minutes until the school day ends. Besides, if we do happen to be late, I'm sure this can compensate for our bad punctuality." He pulled a plastic grocery store bag from the cab floor, and lifted it onto his lap. Aria sat up, not having noticed the bag before, and she was now intrigued to see what it held. Ezra pulled out a packet of chocolate covered pretzels, some gummy bears and a magazine specifically written for children with an interest in cars and trains. Aria was overwhelmed by his thoughtfulness, and couldn't believe that Ezra was actually there for her. No matter how awkward this situation was for Aria, it had to be at least ten times worse for Ezra, and he was still there to help and reassure her. Her heart was smiling.

"You are possibly the best human being to exist," Aria cooed, kissing him lightly on the cheek. Her nerves were subsided a little by just by Ezra's kind words, and the soapy scent of his freshly washed shirt. As she snuggled into his chest, tiredness from the night before suddenly hit her like a brick wall. Aria let her eyes flutter closed, imagining how good it would feel to just rest her eyes for a moment, but all too soon, the cab stopped short and awoke her from a half lucid haziness and she quickly became alert.

"Twenty five dollars," The driver barked impatiently, and Ezra rushed to pull his wallet from the pocket of his cord jeans. Aria wanted to protest to the rude driver was supposed to be providing a public service, and that this was no way to treat paying customers, but Ezra gave her hard stare, which settled this issue to be one that she could add to her list of many reasons why not to take a cab. She and Ezra stepped out onto a street that was filled with mingling parents coming to collect their children from school, and Aria felt somewhat claustrophobic and disoriented as she looked around the pleasant suburban townhouses. She could barely see the entrance of the school due to the crowds of children fleeing from its gates, and she began to panic, wondering if they were late for Malcolm's exit time.

"I think we need to head over here," Ezra said, pulling on Aria's hand and directing her to an area where there was a break in the distribution of people. They snaked their way through the crowds and into the playground, and Aria's nerves instantly calmed when she spotted a young boy sitting on the edge of a brick wall, and a teacher standing next to him. The child was undoubtedly Malcolm; he had the same heart shaped face as Maggie and his hair was of the same brownish tone.

"I think that's him." Aria pointed to the boy, and his teacher's eyes lit up. She took this as their key to make their way across the playground, all the while looking up towards Ezra nervously. She gathered that Maggie had called to tell the teachers the situation, and that Malcolm was aware of it too, but she couldn't help but feel a little out of place now they were actually here.

"You must be Aria," The middle aged woman said as Aria and Ezra approached the wall. Ezra gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, encouraging her to answer the curious teacher.

"Yes, and this is my boyfriend, Ezra." Aria froze. She hadn't even meant to say that, it had just slipped out before she could catch her thoughts. The teacher seemed to be growing impatient of Aria's sudden muteness, but soon Ezra had jumped in for her, saving the day as usual.

"I understand that this situation is far from ideal for Malcolm, but we are in direct contact with his mom and have been given specific instructions on what to say and what not to." Ezra's voice was like a magical spell. He had softened the teacher's demeanour and it was clear that she was now in their favour, and most of all, trusted that the young couple would be capable of looking after her student.

As Ezra talked with the teacher, Aria thought it was about time she acknowledged Malcolm. "Hi, I'm Aria," she said brightly, unsure of how to perceive the young boy. He seemed to be quite intently focused on a small object he held in his hands, but looked up towards Aria and smiled.

"I know," The little boy said, beginning to laugh.

Aria was bewildered for a second. Had Maggie told her son about Aria only on their first day of working together? "You do?"

"Of course. Mrs Goose told me before you came over," he said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Aria smiled at Malcolm. Her nerves had almost completely subsided, especially now she knew Malcolm was going to be easy to get along with.

"What have you got there," Aria asked, referring to the toy he encased in his small hands.

"You like trains, too?" His eyes lit up, and he stepped off the wall to come and show Aria his possession.

"I don't know very much about trains, but I'm sure you could teach me." Aria watched as the little boy smiled excitedly, and began to pull on his teacher's shirt sleeve for attention. "Mrs Goode, Aria likes trains too!"

"Well, it looks as if you guys are going to have a great time, then," Mrs Goode said, smiling down proudly at Malcolm who was now running his toy train along the bricks of the wall they were stood next to, annotating with all the realistic noises of a steam train.

"I'm sure we will," Ezra replied, taking Aria's hand firmly in his own. "Are you ready to show us the way to your house, Malcolm?"

The boy nodded his head enthusiastically, and came to stand beside Aria and Ezra. "See you tomorrow, Mrs Goode!" He waved as the three headed towards the school gates. They walked through the suburban streets, which Aria noticed weren't too different from Rosewood after all. Ezra and Malcolm chatted away contently about his school day, while Aria puzzled on her cell phone's map app, trying to decipher exactly how far they had to walk to the address Maggie had given her for the apartment. Luckily, Malcolm was a great aid to Aria's struggle with technology, and he directed them round several corners and counted off the amount of blocks they had left until they reached his street. "You see that big, blue door over there?" Malcolm chanted, pulling on Aria's hand. She was taken aback slightly by how relaxed Malcolm was in the presence of people he had never met before, but took this as a positive aspect about the little boy; if he had been shy and unsure, the situation would be ten times worse than it was now, and Aria was thankful that everything was going to plan.

"I see it," Aria confirmed. She heard Ezra chuckle as she matched her excited tone to that of Malcolm's.

"That's our house!" He rushed along the street so fast Aria feared he was going to trip over his own feet, and came to a halt outside the famous blue door.

"He sure is friendly," Ezra said into Aria's ear as they walked behind at a considerably slower pace than Malcolm.

"He's adorable. I think we're going to have a busy night ahead of us." She brushed her hand against Ezra's, looked up towards his freshly shaven face. "Thank you for speaking up back there. Again, I really couldn't have done this without you."

"You're welcome. As long as I'm spending time with you, I'm happy," Ezra replied, peering around Aria's petite body to see where Malcolm had gone to before placing a long, gentle kiss on her perfectly bow shaped lips.

"Ewww!" A small voice came from ahead, and Aria immediately pulled back to see Malcolm covering his eyes at the entrance to the apartment block. Ezra began to laugh nervously, before grabbing a hold of Aria's small hand and leading to her towards the young boy. "You guys are gross," Malcolm commented, as Aria searched around in her purse for the set of keys Maggie had given her a couple of hours previously. She suddenly felt embarrassed that she had let herself go in front of the little boy, and wanted more than anything for him to forget it and, god forbid, not tell his mother. Maggie was sure to take it the wrong way, and Aria did _not_ want to be out of favour with Maggie just as the two were beginning to form a friendship.

Once in the hallway of the apartment, Malcolm ushered Aria and Ezra into a bedroom which was painted a variety of different shades of blue and had thousands of little boy things scattered around on various shelves and surfaces. On the far wall was a mural of an old fashioned steam train, which Aria noticed was the same image which was printed on the bed's comforter. She smiled, imagining the fun and joy Malcolm must have in this wonderful, themed bedroom, where all his toys and passions were held. She looked towards Ezra, and saw he was doing the same she was just the moment before; his eyes wandering the room, taking in every detail, from the colour of the lampshades to the way each knot twisted in the original oak floor. She saw a memory in his hazy eyes, and realised that coming in here must have triggered something for him about his childhood – a territory that Aria had, regrettably, yet to ask him about in detail.

"Where is it, where is it? Where is _it_?" Malcolm cried impatiently, interrupting both Aria and Ezra from their thoughts. Malcom was crouched on the floor, his hands searching ferociously in a rather large, and chest like toy box.

"What've you lost, buddy?" Ezra asked the exasperated seven year old, crouching down to his height.

"I can't find my green steam train." He stood, and circuited the room sadly.

"I'm sure it'll be there somewhere," Ezra offered, obviously terrified in case the boy was on the verge of a tantrum.

"But I wanted to show Aria and tell her about all the parts and functions," Malcolm wailed, his voice cracking and his eyes beginning to brim with tears.

Aria's heart broke at the genuine sadness the little boy was feeling towards his favourite toy being lost, but also for the fact that he had been so excited to share the special object with Aria. She couldn't think of a sweeter gesture. "Hey, it's okay, Malcolm. Ezra actually has a surprise for you, anyway."

Malcolm's face lit up, and a small smile pulled at the corner of his tiny lips. "You do?" He asked, looking towards Ezra.

"I do. Let's go through to the living room and we can find out what it is!" Ezra said excitedly, and Malcom almost instantly cheered up and lead the way to a large, open living room. The little boy slid his shoes off, and hung his backpack on a hook by the door before sitting on the edge of the couch, eager to find out what Ezra had for him. Aria watched from the doorway as Ezra came over to sit beside Malcolm, revealing the plastic grocery bag which held the magazine and snacks he had shown Aria earlier. The two conversed lightly, before Ezra told Malcom to close his eyes. The little boy shut his eyes tight, and placed his hands over them to assure Ezra that he was not going to peak, while Ezra debagged the present and placed it in Malcolm's lap. "Open up!"

Malcom's grin stretched wider than that of any Aria had ever seen on such a small boy, but it soon faltered into an expression of confusion and intense bewilderment. "How did you know I liked trains?" he finally asked, looking between both the magazine and Ezra.

"Magic," replied Ezra, tapping the little boy's nose, causing him to erupt into a fit of giggles.

* * *

The rest of the afternoon went by extremely fast, with Malcolm sitting between the couple on the couch, the three of them reading parts of his magazine out loud and munching on the snacks Ezra had brought them. Aria couldn't help but feel how _right_ this all seemed. The way Ezra acted with Malcolm was completely and utterly inspiring; the amount of concentration and time he had dedicated to the little boy for the short three hours they had been with him was possibly the loveliest thing Aria had ever witnessed. And she couldn't help but feel as if she and Malcolm were bonding nicely too, the way he adored her made her simply want to wrap him up in a giant bear hug. The situation did feel somewhat odd, though; Malcolm only being eleven years younger than Aria made her sort of feel more like an older sister than anything else, but she was sure that hadn't affected his train of thought, and that the interest he had in pleasing her was real. However, what both Aria and Ezra had _not_ been prepared for was the questioning Malcolm had for them after his brain had absorbed as much information on trains and cars a small boy was capable of.

"Where is my mom?" His tone, although it had a curious hint to it, also had a sense of longing and uncertainty, as if he had just realised that the people who were currently sitting on his living room sofa were _not_ regular guests and were, in essence, complete strangers. He stood from his spot on the couch and padded his way over to the large, bay window which looked out onto the quite, residential street.

Ezra and Aria made eye contact, each one of them speechless. How were they supposed to tell this playful and intelligent little boy something that would only cause him to be distraught and upset? "Your mommy had to go see your grandma for a little while," Aria finally said, knowing that she couldn't exactly tread around that part of the truth.

Malcolm peered out the window, and then sat on the sill, releasing a sigh. "But we only go and see Grandma on Sundays," he replied, frankly. If Malcolm wasn't a seven year old child, Aria would have thought he was challenging her, but of course this wasn't the case; Malcolm was feeling unsettled, and who was Aria to blame him for that.

"Well, Grandma needed to speak to your mom about something tonight, so Aria and I are here to look after you for a little while." Ezra's reply was natural and swift, and Malcolm seemed to be eager to believe him.

"Okay," The little boy said, jumping down from the windowsill and walking over to sit by Aria and Ezra again. He was quiet for a moment, and Aria worried that the rest of their night wasn't going to go as smoothly as she had originally thought, but finally Malcolm spoke. "What are we having for dinner?"

Aria froze. She hadn't thought about that at all, and Maggie hadn't mentioned what not to feed Malcolm, or if she had even planned a meal for them tonight.

"Can we have chicken nuggets?" Malcolm asked, perched on the edge of the sofa as if he were about to jump around in glee. Aria didn't know what to say. She had no clue if Maggie was one of those 'organic moms' who wouldn't allow a processed food packet passed her front door, or if she were relaxed about she and Malcolm's eating. While she pondered over her decision, Malcolm became more and more impatient, and obviously Ezra could sense this.

"I'll go and see what supplies there are in the kitchen," he murmured, walking out of the room in search for the kitchen and leaving Aria behind to entertain a hungry and impatient seven year old.

* * *

*Ezra's POV*

The house had fallen dark from the past hours the three of them had spent in the living room, and Ezra felt along the hallway wall for a light switch as he walked towards the kitchen. After stumbling over a rug, and almost banging into a wooden bookshelf unit – that was invisible in the darkness of the hall – Ezra eventually found the kitchen, which happened to be much larger than he had imagined. He took in the immaculately decorated room, from the chrome finishings to the high end appliances, and wandered over to the giant fridge/freezer. He could hear Malcolm talking contently and Aria's occasional chuckle, just a whisper of the full melodic laugh that brought joy to his ears. He'd had fun this afternoon, spending time with Aria like this was definitely not what he had expected when they had agreed to meet up later, but nevertheless, this was definitely an insight to what their life could possibly be like one day. The admiration he held for Aria had been extended further than any elastic would stretch after watching the way she connected with Malcom tonight, and once again, Ezra found himself imaging them caring for their own child together one day.

"Ezra! We're getting hungry through here!" Malcolm and Aria called in unison, before exploding into a fit of giggles. Ezra chuckled and reached to pull open the freezer door, but stopped short when his eyes caught sight of a face he didn't think he'd ever see again. Ezra closed the door, and pulled off a photograph from a collage which hung on the magnetic surface. He blinked twice afraid that it was just a trick of the eyes, but the same smiling woman stared back at him, her arms wrapped firmly around a little, brunette boy, who just happened to share his mother's smile. Ezra placed the picture back underneath the magnet, and his eyes roamed across the rest of the collage. There were dozens of photos, several of a growing baby throughout the years which Ezra assumed to be Malcolm, and some of the woman – who had quite definitely caught his eye from the first photo he'd come across – with a group of friends at what appeared to be a college graduation. But the photo that really sent Ezra's stomach churning was one that was quite distinctly hidden behind edges of another. He pulled the picture out with shaking hands, examining it with all his concentration. The girl – around Aria's age – sat in a hospital bed, her short hair pulled back from her face and dressed in a blue maternity gown. She looked down at a tiny baby, who was bundled in a thick, blue knit blanket, with admiration and a hint of sadness in her dark, brown eyes.

And that was when Ezra knew. He didn't have to look at the date mark on the base of the photo, his brain had long ago calculated the last time he had seen Maggie and how this all added up. But how could he possibly not know he had a child? For seven years he had been unaware, and unable to be the best father he possibly could to this little boy.

But surely he was jumping to conclusions. There had to be a rational and legitimate explanation to this unexpected and surreal situation Ezra was experiencing at this moment. But the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Of course this would be why Maggie had dropped off the face of the earth after their school prom in junior year, and had cut all sources of contact with both Ezra and her best friends at school. When Ezra had tried to put himself in her shoes all those years ago, Maggie being pregnant had not been one of the things to cross his mind. But all sympathy he had for her was long gone now. If Malcolm really was his child, how on earth could she have kept such a burdening and humungous secret from him?

Ezra felt sick with shock, and couldn't stand to be in this claustrophobic and stuffy kitchen any longer. He dropped the photograph and walked as fast as he could out of the house which held so many memories that he hadn't been a part of. He couldn't bear to look back as he let the heavy door slam closed, all he wanted was to go home and pretend this day had never happened. Ezra didn't know whether knowing, or not knowing was worse. But could he really go on knowing that he may possibly have a seven year old son who needed a father to help him with his homework, and experience all the little things a father and son should together?

He padded slowly down the stairs, unable and unwilling to think about any of this havoc being true, but while he was trapped in his bubble of self-pity and anger, Ezra didn't hear the woman he loved the most cry out to him in desperation and confusion. He didn't notice when she ran out of the door, bare footed and determined to find out what was going on, clinging to his arm and pleading from him to come back indoors out of the rain. But Ezra _did_ notice when a floral patterned umbrella crashed forcefully into his chest, and when that all too familiar face peered out from behind.

"I'm so sorry…" She began to say, but stopped short when she saw his face.

Ezra's body tingled with anxiety and panic as he closed his eyes in despair. Pent up confusion, and undoubtable fear graced Aria's face as she looked between her co-worker and the man she loved.

"_Ezra?" _Maggie whispered, barely audible. The woman's face drained of all colour and her hands relaxed in shock, the umbrella slipping and falling to the ground.

"What's going on?" Aria croaked, before Ezra stormed away, pulling his strong arm from Aria's embrace and leaving her to stand there in the pouring rain in sheer bewilderment.

_What IS going on? _Ezra asked himself, before heading out into the stormy, unfamiliar streets. He didn't know where he was going, but he did know that he had to get as far away from that house which held a potential bump in his carefully unplanned and uneventful life.

* * *

**Hello, thank you for reading and putting up with the longer wait for this chapter! Now, before you shout at me, please consider where I'm coming from. I enjoy drama. Without little bits of drama every now and then, there wouldn't be a story. That said, Ezria dominate my thoughts practically 24/7, and I hate to see them hurting on the show. So please remember that not everything is always as it seems ;) Please review and let me know your thoughts, and once again, thank you SO much for all the reviews I have received, they really make me smile! Oh, and thanks to Emily (MustacheYouAQuestion) for her unconditional help and guidance throughout not only this chapter, but the story too. - Kate! **


	12. If I Could Change Your Mind

Only one night ago had Ezra confessed his love for a small, eighteen year old brunette named Aria Montgomery. This night had been one of extreme pain and courage for both he and Aria, and Ezra knew then that he would do absolutely anything to protect and care for this captivatingly beautiful young woman. But, one could go as far to label Ezra's rash reaction to the events that had occurred in the past hours, a hypocrisy.

He sat in a taxi, his brown locks curling from the miserable weather outside, heading back into the busy Manhattan evening rush hour. Ezra knew it was wrong; he knew he was running away from an inevitable situation. He had left behind a situation he had no idea the truth of, but most importantly, he had left behind the person he needed most right now. Ezra felt sick with worry and guilt as he recalled the last he'd seen of Aria. Her face had been tainted with fear and concern as she pulled on Ezra's arm, pleading for him to come back inside. He couldn't face entering the place where Maggie and Malcolm had made so many memories without him, but this was no excuse for how he had run out on the situation. Aria had just opened up to him about her deepest secrets, and this was how he treated her when he couldn't handle something. He was a douchebag, no matter what was at stake, Ezra should _not_ have left Aria at that apartment with a world of bewilderment in her hands.

He had to fix this before the situation got any worse. He had to face Maggie, and if this meeting would change his life, so be it; he couldn't let Aria go without explaining himself. "Could you turn around, please?" Ezra called to the cab driver, who gave an unamused grunt and proceeded to haul the vehicle over to the other side of the road.

Ezra's hands began to sweat as he reached his destination, and he had wrecked his brain for the duration of the journey trying to figure out what to say to not only Aria, but Maggie, too. Could he just go in there and demand answers? Of course, but being the introvert that he was, Ezra would never manage to pluck up enough courage to do such a thing. As for Aria, Ezra had vowed to himself that he would do anything for her forgiveness. He wasn't sure if she was mad at him, or just simply hurt and confused, but whatever emotion she felt towards him, Ezra was determined to make things right between them again.

Eventually, it was time to face the harsh reality, and Ezra opened the cab door, stepping out into the icy cold rain. He walked briskly towards the big, blue communal door which Malcolm had gotten so excited over earlier. It was then that Ezra worried what his reaction would be if Malcolm was not his son. Would he be disappointed? Relived? Inconsolable? Ezra had no idea, and if he were being honest, ever since his potential discovery of the photo collage, Ezra's opinion had been greatly negative on the issue. He didn't know if he was ready to take responsibility to get to know a little boy and call him his son when they were practically strangers. He didn't ask for any of this, and he didn't particularly want any of it, but Ezra knew that if Malcolm _did_ happen to be his biological child, he would welcome the little boy with open arms, simply because it was the right thing to do.

Ezra stood outside the apartment door – which he had not long ago slammed shut in frustration – with his hands knotted behind his back in a nervous struggle. The door was answered by the very woman he had a bone to pick with; Maggie. "Hello, Ezra," she said calmly, as if she were expecting him.

Ezra nodded in response, and stepped into the familiar hallway that earlier, had been the walk of doom to change his life. Maggie guided him through to the living room, which Ezra was surprised to find empty. "Would you like anything to drink?" Maggie asked, her tone wavering, obviously procrastinating talking about the main issue.

"No, thanks." Ezra was sure to be firm; he wanted Maggie to know that he wasn't taking any of her crap, and that she should just cut to the chase. "So, you have a child?"

Maggie glanced around the room, quite clearly uncomfortable. "Malcolm–"

"Is he mine?" Ezra asked curtly, interrupting whatever sob story Maggie was about to recite.

"Malcolm was born seven years ago, when I was seventeen. I left because…because I couldn't face you. I moved to my mom's, in Delaware and had my pregnancy with her. Everything was fine, but I needed to get out of there and live my own life, so last year, the two of us packed up and came to the city. We're happy here; Malcolm goes to a great school, he even has a couple of friends." Maggie smiled sadly, looking down into her lap, as if she were embarrassed to say any more.

"You could have told me. All these years, I've questioned where the hell you disappeared after that night at the dance, and now I haven't had the chance to be a part of Malcolm's development and key stages. How could you do this to me?" Ezra's voice was shaky, just as his hands were, and he knew he was going to cry.

"He's not yours, Ezra," Maggie whispered, her eyes brimming with bulbous tears.

Ezra's head snapped up, unsure that he had heard her correctly. "But how…"

"Ezra, you have to understand. We were young, you were away doing that college internship at Columbia with your mom at the weekends. I was all alone. You had no time for me anymore, all you thought about was school, and now, I really don't blame you. I was a whiney, hormonal bitch most of the time, but that's still no excuse for what I did."

Ezra's mind clouded over with anger, confusion and most of all, rejection. Maggie had outright cheated on him while they were dating in high school. And that might seem a far off memory in the past for most, Ezra didn't know if this was something he could simply 'let go'. "Who is it?" Ezra spat, his eyes bore firmly into Maggie's face, determined to intimate the answer out of her.

"I really don't think–" Maggie started, but Ezra jumped down her throat again, demanding an answer.

"Who did you have sex with while we were in a relationship?" Ezra had gone from angry, to downright disgusted and repulsed by the woman in front of him.

"It was Hardy," she said finally, shaking her head in mortification.

For the first time in his life, Ezra Fitz was speechless. He felt numb, raw. He didn't know _what_ to feel. Ezra knew his best friend was an ass, but he hadn't taken Hardy to be the type of person to fuck his friend's girlfriend. This was something completely unforgivable, for both Hardy and Maggie. For all Ezra knew, his entire teenage relationship with Maggie had been a lie, along with his friendship with Hardy (who he still saw regularly to this day). "Does he know?" Not that he cared, but Ezra, being a naturally civil person, wanted just that something extra to give him reason to be mad at Hardy.

"Malcolm and I have only seen him socially since he was born, but I haven't been in contact with him since we moved to the city. I'm sorry, Ezra, I really am." Maggie's tone was desperate, pleading for forgiveness.

Ezra was unmoved, and now wanted nothing more than to leave Maggie and her pathetic stories behind. "I have to go," He stood from the sofa and began to walk towards the front door, but spun around on his heel almost instantly. "Where's Aria?"

"She's, um, in the bathroom," Maggie replied, nervously. Ezra's eyes widened. Since he hadn't seen her when he arrived, he assumed she'd left after Maggie had come to relieve her of her babysitting duties, but obviously that wasn't the case, and Ezra began to worry about just exactly how much Aria knew about the whole ordeal.

"Did you _tell _her?" Ezra's tone was anything but kind, and his hands shook with anger and the fear that Maggie's obnoxious behaviour had jeopardized Aria's trust in him.

"I–"

"Don't. Don't try to make up some petty excuse to make me feel like this isn't _your _fault. I'm done with you, Maggie. As far as I'm concerned, I don't want to see you again for a long time." Ezra stormed out of the room, and down the familiar hallway towards the bathroom. As he descended, his eyes couldn't help but glance over the family photographs which lined the walls, and the perfectly childish artwork Malcolm had created. Tonight, before he'd even had the chance to consider the issue of having a child properly, it had been taken away from him. But what hurt the most was that his best friend had never mentioned a thing about the ordeal, and that Ezra had been played for a fool for seven years of his life.

He wandered down the hallway, and passed Malcolm's open bedroom door. The little boy was sitting peacefully on his bed, his eyes glued to the TV which was playing a cartoon. He smiled at the child. Out of all this chaos and mess, Malcom was the purest thing to come of it, and Ezra hoped that he would grow up to be a better person than his mother and father. Ezra sighed, and continued to the bathroom door, which was closed. He suddenly felt nervous and uncertain of the situation that was about to unfold. Were things going to be different now? He had, after all, run away from Aria and left her in the middle of his own unfinished business. And he had no idea what garbage Maggie had told her, but whatever it was, Ezra was definitely going to try and redeem himself the best he possibly could. He was sure that Aria Montgomery was the love of his life, and he was not about to let her slip away after this.

Ezra knocked on the door tentatively, his hands shaking like a small, terrified dog. He heard a sniff, and the sound of Aria's heeled shoes scuffling the stone tile floor. "Can I come in?" Ezra asked. He didn't want to crowd her personal space, yet at the same time, he couldn't wait any longer to pour his heart out to her and win her back.

There was a faint sigh as a response, and Ezra took his as a sign to enter the bathroom. His eyes did a once over of the small room, and Aria was sat on the toilet seat, her head in her hands and her cheeks stained with excess makeup and dried up salty tears. "Hey," he said awkwardly, perching on the edge of the bathtub, opposite the toilet.

"Hi," Aria replied. Her voice was raw and hoarse from crying, and Ezra felt awful that he had driven her to such a state. She suddenly became aware of her appearance, and began to fuss over her panda like eyes with a piece of tissue paper.

"Aria, I'm really sorry for how I acted. I should have never run away like that, it was stupid, selfish and childish." Ezra glanced towards the beautiful young woman before him, who looked as if she were about to spill over with tears again any moment now. "I don't know how much you know – or _don't_ know – but I promise you that hurting you was something I had no intention of doing when I walked out this house tonight."

Aria was silent, not offering any input to Ezra's struggling and heart jerking apology. Instead, her eyes wandered the room, as if she couldn't bear to look at Ezra because he was the main source of her pain. How could he convince her to look past all this, that it wasn't anything to be concerned about because, in retrospect, it didn't really involve him anymore – just two people he used to know. "Please say something, Aria?" Ezra begged. He couldn't bear to endure this silence any longer, he needed to hear her voice, he _needed_ to know that everything was going to be okay again.

"I don't know what to say, Ezra. How can I have anything to say, when my pleading and confusion isn't enough for you to stay with me? You left me here; you shrugged me off. I guess when it comes to _me_ trying to offer _you_ my comfort, I'm not sufficient enough for your high standards."

Ezra's mouth gaped open, his mind flashing back to that terrifying moment when his future was on the line, and where his head was so far away from his surroundings, that now Ezra questioned his sanity for leaving Aria behind like he did. His mind was filled with pictures of Aria's heartbroken stance as she stared after him, running away from the situation as always and into the dark, unknown storm. "Aria, I'm sorry, okay? There are no words to describe how awful and disgusting I feel about just leaving you there like that. I was confused, angry and hurt, but that shouldn't compensate for me walking away from the situation, and most importantly, you. You are the only person for me Aria, and it shouldn't have taken me until this evening to recognise that. I understand, of course, if you can't forgive me for this, but always remember: I love you, Aria Montgomery, and I would do anything for you to love me back." Ezra began to feel more and more defeated as his justification tethered off into nothing, and when Aria didn't reply, he felt worthless.

Finally, Aria cleared her throat. "Of course I love you, Ezra. You are the realest and most honest person in my life. I guess that tonight, when you walked out on me, a piece of that honesty and trust I've built up with you crumbled. It took a lot for me to tell you everything last night, Ezra, and not only do I want that information to be in the hands of someone I trust and can rely on, but I want to be trusted to know the same amount of information about _you." _

Ezra's posture straightened, surprised by what he was hearing.

"You have to admit, I know practically nothing about you. For all I know, you could be a psycho stalker who wants to plot my murder." A small grin pulled on Aria's berry red lips as she said this, and Ezra couldn't help but chuckle silently at her childish and gory reference. Ezra nodded understandingly, and he knew then that he had to tell her about the evenings events, and promised to elaborate on any issue that she raised.

"Okay," Ezra said, stepping up from his perch on the bathtub.

"Okay?" Aria questioned, a devilish smile on her sweet face.

With that, the couple walked hand in hand out of the small bathroom, and the family sized apartment that had lead them to realise many qualities about each other and themselves. As they wandered down the dark streets of the quieter area of the city, Ezra realised that no matter how calm and nice the area was, their experience there had been nothing but that. In a way, Ezra was thankful for his discovery tonight; not only had he discovered an unforgivable truth about his best friend, but he had gotten to know exactly what Aria wanted _him_ to put into their relationship in order for it to work. And Ezra was nothing but determined to make their connection stronger and to get to know every part of Aria, and he now knew that she felt the same way.

* * *

**Hello, thank you for reading! To those of you who have stuck through these last few chapters, thank you incredible amounts! It really means the world to me. This chapter has practically been split in half as I felt it would be best to get this part posted while I have a free night from homework, and to answer your rather unsure and angry reviews (hahaha!). Anyway, it would be great if you left a review letting me know your thoughts on this chapter. Oh and a little spoiler for next update; its very...juicy. A lot of you will be ****satisfied ;). Thanks again - Kate :) **


	13. I'm in Love with You

Two hours later, Aria and Ezra were sat in a striped diner booth, their meals long finished and the facility's refillable soda machine working to their advantage. It wasn't that the food or the place had been anything special, but this night had been one where Aria had really gotten to know Ezra properly, as she had requested. He had been a darling about it, too; flattering her when she questioned his sanity on choosing to date Maggie back in high school, and promising her that his feelings for her had long ago ended, and were non-existent now knowing that she had cheated on him and that Aria had entered his life. It was almost a reincarnation of their first date, but now they could finally _really_ enjoy it, neither of them having to worry about the burden of past secrets and age gaps bulldozing the chance of a possible connection.

Aria nibbled on the remains of her pizza slice as she intently listened to Ezra tell a story from his past that involved him and a certain teacher from his high school days. She watched his eyes light up with the excitement of his reminiscence, and Aria truly felt that she had never known Ezra better than she did now.

"And he sent you out just for that?" Aria inquired as Ezra finished up his tale, gobsmacked that a teacher could be so unfair.

"Turns out I _really_ sucked at maths," he replied, shaking his head in disgrace at his younger, teenage self.

"That's cute." Aria looked towards him, her smile uncontrollable as she imagined a smaller version of the man before her, clueless when a teacher asked him about polynomial algebraic identities. In all honesty, though, she wouldn't have had a clue how solve an equation of that length, either.

After talking about the detailed, business like things that had become a requirement in their relationship so far, it was wonderful to finally be able to actually relax when spending time with each other, and be able to talk about light-hearted topics that weren't of any importance to either of them; they were talking about it just _because._ Eventually, closing time at the diner rolled around and Aria and Ezra were practically thrown out of the place. "Your house or mine?" Ezra asked. Aria was thrilled that the thought of each of them going home alone to their respectful houses hadn't even crossed his mind, in fact, she was so pleased – if not giddy – that her answer came out before she had even thought about what she wanted to do.

"Yours." She giggled right after the words escaped her lips, pressing her hands on them as if to stop any of her other mischievous thoughts escaping the proximity of her mind.

Ezra grabbed a hold of her small hand, and nuzzled his face into their adjoined grip. "Okay. And since we're close, I won't hail us a cab."

Aria stopped and shook her head at him mockingly. "I think you're now obsessing over your claim of me having an 'obsession' with not taking cabs." She watched his face mouth turn up into a small, devilish grin, and she just knew then that he was going to shoot a comeback at her.

When he didn't reply, Aria gave up on her prophecy, and simply let him guide her through the street lit, dark avenues of their beautiful city. In the dark, she had no idea where she was in this part of town, and she would usually be wary of walking around at night time anyway, but now – with Ezra – all these fears had subsided. She knew that he would take care of her, and she felt so extremely comfortable around him that it kind of scared her. Were things just going a little _too_ fast? No. She just needed to stop doubting herself and allow herself to live in the moment, otherwise her hesitancy and silly worries would hold back anything that was going to move their relationship forward.

Aria had been so consumed by her thoughts that when they reached the outside of Ezra's apartment block, she was disorientated and couldn't fathom out where she was for a moment. Ezra released her hand as he searched in his jacket pocket for his keys, and when his hand returned to hers, he leaned in close and whispered something into her ear over the busy traffic filled street. "I may, or may not, have hidden something of yours that was left in my kitchen cupboard."

There it was; his payback for her cheeky comment earlier. But how could he have known that she was going to say something that required payback? Maybe he did know her better than she thought he did. "The Froot Loops?" Aria questioned as the pair walked up the wonderfully and intricately crafted staircase.

"Perhaps," Ezra said, his tone teasing.

"How do I know you didn't just eat them?" She challenged, looking up towards him tauntingly.

"Eat them? Aria, I would have to be deranged to eat something as funky tasting and crazy looking as those odd little circles you call _cereal!" _

"Oh come on, it is the best tasting breakfast cereal of all time!" Aria cried, smacking Ezra on the arm playfully. "And wait a minute. Did you just call me _deranged?!" _ She shook her head in mock annoyance, and Ezra began to laugh.

"I wasn't actually referring to you, but I suppose I do think you're a little whacko for liking those things," he said, while wrapping his strong arms around Aria's torso, pulling her in close.

"You are _so_ full of yourself, Mr Fitz," she commented, her senses tingling as his hands snaked around her waist.

"I only do it because it turns you on," Ezra replied, kissing her lightly on her forehead and then proceeding to open the door to his apartment.

"Asshole," she murmured, mostly to herself, but she knew Ezra heard her; his silent chuckle was easy enough to sense even though she wasn't facing him.

She slipped off her jacket and boots, and put them by Ezra's front door before throwing herself onto his brown, leather couch, suddenly feeling quite exhausted from the day's whirlwind of events. Ezra was in the kitchen, fumbling around in the fridge, looking for something for the pair to drink. Aria sat up, and felt around the coffee table for the TV remote, but ultimately failed due to the large amount of clutter which was spread across the oak, wood surface. She let her hands drag across the variety of takeout menus, and she flicked through the previous day's newspaper before coming across a thick, wire bound journal. She pulled it out from underneath a stack of other papers, and carefully inspected the leather casing. Her hands traced the fraying, fabric placeholder, and she brought the book to her nose and inhaled the leathery, yet familiar smell. The journal was most definitely Ezra's – it even _smelled _like him.

"All I have in here just now is orange juice and scotch, but I didn't really think that would be to your taste," Ezra said as he walked over towards the couch. He placed two tumblers of orange liquid on the coffee table Aria's hands had just been on, and then looked towards her questioningly. "What are you thinking?" he asked, taking her hands in his.

Her thoughts were solely curious right now, but not only for one reason. Sure, she was definitely curious to read what was in Ezra's journal (if it was anything like her own, it could include things from irregular diary entries, to poems and scattered pieces of short stories) but it was as if a sudden urgency had come over her to analyse Ezra in a deeper, more intimate way than she had ever done before. She was curious to see how his perfectly sculpted biceps felt under her soft and caring touch, and she wanted more than anything to share absolutely everything she could with him. The love in Aria, was Ezra Fitz; she was sure of it, and she knew in order to prove this to herself, she had to give him a gift that she could give no other man.

She felt safe with Ezra. She felt happy with Ezra. She felt so many incredible and wonderful emotions with Ezra, and she loved that about him. But what she loved most of all, was that with Ezra, she felt accepted. He accepted her for who she was, for what she had done, and for the mistakes she had made, and that was something no one – not even her own family – had ever done for her before.

She was ready to show Ezra that she loved him, and for the first time in her life she felt certain that he would return this gesture.

Aria scooted closer to Ezra on the couch, the leather squeaking as her knees met his. She took his hand in hers, and pulled it towards her pink, bow shaped lips before kissing each of his perfectly defined knuckles. She looked towards him, her doe shaped, hazel eyes pleading with all of their might for him to interoperate what she was trying to say with her actions.

Thankfully, he did.

Aria's heart swelled and her nerves tingled as Ezra's hands cupped her face, and a sweet, knowing smile graced his handsome face. "Do you have any idea how much I love you?" he asked, almost to himself as he tucked a strand of Aria's wavy, cascading locks of hair behind her pierced ear.

She couldn't take it any longer. It was physically beginning to hurt _not_ to be attached to him in some form, yet at the same time, her nerves were on high alert, and butterflies danced in her stomach to some fast, upbeat rhythm that Aria realised was her pounding heart. Eventually, Ezra reached out for her, his lips crashing into hers in an intensified hunger, stronger than that of their kiss in his kitchen a few days ago. She kissed him back with the same passion, as her small hands began to tug on his brown waves of hair. She savoured the flavour of his sweet orangey breath, and chewed down on his plump, pink bottom lip, completely unaware of how out of character this was for her. But tonight she didn't care; tonight she wasn't just Aria Montgomery – tonight she was Aria Montgomery who was so desperately and incredibly in love with Ezra Fitz.

Eventually, Ezra's hands began to leave Aria's face, and roam towards her slender waste. He pulled at the bottom of her white, lace blouse, his lips never leaving hers until they parted to pull her shirt over her head. Within the next few moments, clothing only became a nuisance as Aria practically ripped off Ezra's grey t-shirt and he continued to remove Aria's many layers of tank tops. They gave each other rushed, quick kisses between each layer of clothing that was removed, but even this wasn't enough to fill Aria's longing to know _all_ about Ezra. She moaned loudly as he planted small kisses along her jawline, trailing all the way down her neck until he reached her bra strap. He pulled her long hair over her shoulder, massaging her back contently until he reached the clip to remove her white, eyelet bra. She froze when his hands ran over her back, and suddenly all the nerves she thought had subsided came rushing back. She did want Ezra to have all of her, but for some reason (even though they were completely alone) she felt exposed and on show out here on his leather couch in the middle of his living room area.

She instantly regretted her pause, as Ezra began to tense at her reaction to his touch. "Aria, I'm sorry, we don't have –"

"No!" She gasped, her voice hoarse with lust. "The bed." Her breaths were uneven, and she panted as she waited for Ezra to grasp what her fluster of words meant. He finally understood, and started to scoop Aria up into his arms. At first, she began to giggle at the absurdness of Ezra's gesture, but her laughs began to depreciate when she realised her cheek was laying fresh against Ezra's lightly toned, bare chest. Her body tingled with excitement and longing, and she began to kiss his body softly to satisfy both their cravings as he carried her towards the bed. He eventually placed her down gently, but almost as soon as her back hit the mattress, she was up again and on top of Ezra's body, pulling his fitted jeans from his legs and then sliding under the covers.

Their bare legs tangled together as they kissed each other thirstily, and Ezra's hands carefully inspected every curve of Aria's small body. He handled her so gently, not so much as if he was afraid he'd break her, but because he cared for her endlessly. His touch was so soft Aria could barely feel it, but because her nerves appeared to be on hyper alert today, she could probably have felt him from five miles away. His breath was short in her ear as he whispered soothing and flattering compliments to her, and eventually Aria gave Ezra his gift, and she knew she had made the right decision. Aria had given Ezra everything she had, and he had not only accepted this gift, but also returned it in his own way.

* * *

**Hello. Thank you for reading! I really hope you've enjoyed this chapter, and although it was pretty short - sorry to leave you at such an intense moment! - I really enjoyed creating the moment Aria and Ezra shared together. Also, thank you to everyone who has stayed with me up until this point in the story (I still actually can't believe you guys read this - its heartwarming and mind blowing!) and thank you so much for all your lovely reviews. I really appreciate the feedback, so let me know what you thought of this chapter. Next chapter could possibly be up within the next few days as I have no school this week, but until then, goodbye! **

**(Also, a huge thank you to my wonderful friend, Emily, for helping me out at this chapter!)**


	14. The Morning After Party

Aria awoke the next morning feeling clean, refreshed and completely at ease, and this positive energy continued as her eyes fluttered open and landed straight on Ezra. She smiled at his peaceful slumber and his occasional giggles which caused him to stir slightly each time. He was the perfect combination of dorky and adorable, but the slight hint of stubble which grew on his cheeks reminded Aria of his extravagant good looks and unbearable jaw line. It reminded her of their aroused activities last night, and she tingled at the thought of her and Ezra becoming so intimate and personal.

Their evening was everything she could have ever hoped for, it was as if Ezra's perfectly sculpted body and her petite frame were meant to be together all along, moving in perfect harmony and synchronisation. He had guided her carefully, almost showing her what to do – which Aria was completely grateful for – and he had in no way made her feel inexperienced or unworthy of his passion, something that had been tickling at the corners of Aria's mind in the moments before they got close.

It had been the best night of her life. Never before had she felt so free and in control as in those prized and steamy fifteen minutes he was inside her. If she thought she knew Ezra's body from any of their previous make out sessions, then she was wrong. The way his bare body felt when entwined with hers brought goose bumps to her skin, and the thought of his sweet kisses on her collarbone almost caused Aria to moan. He was the perfect man to have shared her gift with, and no matter what was to happen with their relationship in the future, Aria knew that last night would be something she would never regret.

Aria hadn't even thought to check the time until she remembered it was a Thursday, which meant she had work to go to. The thought of it made her want to throw up. Not only was she dreading being hauled up in such a cramped space for the majority of the day, but having to share eight hours of the day with Maggie after Aria knew who she really was – and how she had hurt Ezra – made her want to scream. She couldn't go back there, not after what she knew now. Even if they _did_ call a truce on the argument that was bound to happen, the awkwardness would be so intense that Aria wasn't sure she would be able to take it. If only she had managed to go to college here in the city, her life would be so much easier. She would be able to actually eat dinner every night, and she could have a social life and friends like most eighteen year old girls. All on top of studying the subject she loved the most; English.

But, Aria wasn't one to play with fate, and she knew it was because of fate that she and Ezra had met. And had she gone to NYU and not taken up her job at the law firm, then she would never have met Ezra Fitz. It did worry Aria that she had gotten attached to Ezra so quickly, and it didn't make sense how quickly things had escalated between the two of them, which in turn made Aria fear that if Ezra were to somehow be taken away from her that she wouldn't survive it. She couldn't bear the thought, so quickly she wiped it out of her mind and vowed never again to think of it.

Almost as if he had heard her thinking about him, Ezra groaned lightly and his eyes fluttered open. He took in the scene around him, and a small, happy smile appeared on his face as he spotted Aria's naked body lying next to him, and she could tell memories of last night were beginning to fly through his half-awake mind. "Hey," he said, snaking his hand around Aria's lower torso and pulling her close to him.

"Hi," she whispered, kissing him softly before burying her face in the crook of his shoulder. "You smell nice."

"So do you." He chuckled, and Aria felt him place a kiss on the back of her head, something he knew she loved.

"I could lay here all day with you." Aria sighed, knowing she was going to have to get up at some point. "I don't want to go back to that place ever again."

"Then don't. Stay here with me," Ezra said, tracing small circles on Aria's bare thigh with his fingers. "It'll work out well for both of us."

"I suppose one day won't hurt…" Aria knew she was letting herself be too easily persuaded, but she just couldn't deal with going in today, and now Ezra had actually given her a reason to stay, it seemed pointless to put herself through eight hours of hell.

Aria reluctantly slipped out of Ezra's grip and reached for her phone on the nightstand. It was almost eight, so if she had been going to work, she was bound to be late anyway. "Come back," Ezra groaned, pulling on her leg. "You took the cover with you and there is a draft."

Aria chuckled at Ezra's pleads, and quickly typed a simple message telling Melanie, the manager of the law firm, that she was sick and unable to leave her bed. She felt incredibly guilty as she placed the phone back on the nightstand; she was lying through her teeth, but for once, she decided to tell herself not to care. Never in the five months she had worked for Melanie had she taken a sick day, surely she was allowed to have one once in her life. "Okay, okay. I'm here," Aria said, slipping back into Ezra's embrace.

"What's that face for?" Ezra said, tilting Aria's head towards him. She squirmed as he scrutinised her features, her cheeks heating with just the thought of his eyes being on her.

"I was just thinking about last night," Her voice was hoarse, as she recalled Ezra's heavy breath on her neck and the taste of his tongue as it danced with hers.

Ezra's posture suddenly changed, and his hands began to caress Aria's nude body. "Oh yeah? What did you get up to last night?"

Aria smiled devilishly at his teasing, and decided to play along with his little game. "A little of this," she said, kissing him hungrily and nibbling down on his lip, causing a moan to escape the back of Ezra's throat. "And quite a bit of this." She shifted herself so she was laying on top of Ezra's chest, and she began to place soft kisses across his taut, bare skin. Ezra's moans filled the apartment, and the pair's sexual tension was on high alert, almost to the point where they were getting dangerously close to becoming intimate again, however, Aria's phone began to beep, causing them both to jump with fright and their heads to collide in the midst of their panic.

Aria could barely withhold her giggles as Ezra clutched his head in pain, having obviously received the more painful half of the knock. "Hello?" She said, answering the phone without checking the caller ID.

"Hello, Aria."

Aria almost chocked at the sound of Maggie's voice, and at first she wondered how the hell Maggie had her number, but then Aria remembered that she did, in fact, work with the woman. "What do you want, Maggie?"

Ezra's eyes widened in shock at the mention of Maggie's name, and he began to mouth a series of questions that Aria could barely understand.

"Don't worry, Aria. I'm not calling to ruin your and Ezra's little love nest, I'm actually calling on duty. Melanie asks your reason for not coming in." Maggie sounded like she owned the place, not like someone who had only worked for Melanie for less than a week.

"I told her I was sick," Aria replied, adding a cough to the end of her sentence to prove authenticity. Ezra chuckled silently at her lie, and Aria, in fear Maggie would her him, slapped him playfully on the chest.

"If you say so…" Maggie was _playing_ Aria. She could just see that signature, mocking smirk on the older woman's stitched up face as she spoke in her teasing tone.

"Actually, I'd like to speak with Melanie myself. Can you transfer me through to her line?" Aria asked, a sudden burst of confidence rushing through her and convincing her to bypass Maggie's childish ways.

"She's busy at the moment, so you'll have to call back out of work hours." Maggie sounded smitten with her response, which only made Aria's short temper increase in a steady upward pattern.

"Well, I need to tell her I'm handing in my notice; I'm resigning from my position as receptionist at her law firm." Although the thought had crossed Aria's mind more than once that morning, she didn't think she would actually quit, never mind do it over the phone with a woman who she was beginning to detest. Apparently, the words that had just come out of Aria's mouth were a shock to Ezra, too. If he hadn't been surprised enough before to hear that Maggie was the caller who interrupted their steamy moment, he was almost on his feet at her decision now.

"What are you doing?" he asked quietly, his face pulled into an expression of pure bewilderment and confusion as he came back round to sit beside Aria.

"One minute," she mouthed, holding a finger up towards him so she could hear what Maggie had to say about her choice to quit her job. There were a few nervous stutters, and Maggie told Aria that she would have Melanie call her back later. She was free. Free of Maggie and her childish bullying, and free of a job she had never really enjoyed, and which was holding her back from moving onto the next stage of her life here in the city.

"What the hell was that, Aria?" Ezra asked, grabbing a hold of Aria's hand worriedly.

"Ezra. I can't stay there if she is still working there, I mean, did you hear that phone call? I'm sure that it would be happening every day in person, so it was best one of us got out before anything bad happened," she reassured him.

"But, how is it fair that you had to leave? You're the one who has been working there five months, and she's only been there a matter of hours. Aria that was your_ job – _your only source of income." Ezra looked desperate and agitated, which was unusual because usually it was Aria who needed reassuring, not him.

"Ezra. I didn't just leave because of her. I left because that job really wasn't _me_. It took over my life, I have no friends here in the city and I have absolutely no social life. Working there, I feel like a middle aged woman. With that pay I can barely scrape enough money up each month to pay the rent and the bills, so it was never ideal anyway. It was always only going to be temporary until I could find somewhere to work that I enjoy."

Ezra nodded, seeming to agree with her argument, but then shook his head, almost at himself. "I just can't help but feel like it's my fault she pushed you out of a job."

Aria took his hands in hers. "Ezra. Don't say that – ever. I made this decision on my own, and I will deal with any of the consequences that I have to. As for now, I need to go hunting for a new job."

"Alright," Ezra replied, shaking his head at the rationality and absurdity of the situation, but obviously willing to help Aria in any way possible, too. Deep down, Aria wondered herself if maybe it was a little odd that she was so relaxed about everything, she had just become jobless, after all. But in those last few moments, that sense of power and control she had felt had overpowered her usually doubtful mind, and she was beginning to enjoy her newfound confidence.

* * *

*Ezra's POV*

Three hours later, Aria and Ezra were sat on his sofa, he looking up job listings on his iPad, and Aria opting for the traditional method and searching through the newspaper. They had spent a little more time in bed, Aria resting in his arms and eventually falling asleep again, while Ezra began to reread one of his favourite novels – _To Kill a Mockingbird_. The two had eventually gotten up and Ezra had gone to fetch them some fresh coffee and muffins for breakfast, while Aria took a shower.

Ezra scooted over Aria's side of the couch, and peered over the large newspaper which was almost half the size of her petite body, and inhaled the smell of his shampoo in her damp, dark locks. It smelled _way_ better on her. "Found anything yet?" Ezra asked, pulling Aria out of her intense state of concentration.

"Not really. I mean, there are a few things, but nothing that really stands out to me. Don't worry, I know that I definitely _don't _have time to be picky, but I still really want something I know I'm going to actually enjoy doing."

"No, I understand," Ezra said, kissing her cheek softly. "How about we take a break from this? We could go for a walk or back to your apartment so you can change?"

Aria closed the newspaper and began to fold it up. "That sounds like a great idea. I don't think my eyes can take reading that tiny print much longer." She stood up, and wandered towards the front door of the apartment to find her shoes and jacket, and Ezra followed behind contently, grabbing his keys on the way.

The two walked hand in hand along the busy streets of the city, chatting nonchalantly and Aria expressing her opinion on a number of matters to do with the production of classic books and plays being turned into films. Ezra smiled at her determination to prove her point, and was once again compelled by Aria's melodic voice and the ever expanding vocabulary she possessed. "Am I talking too much? I'm sorry, I can shut up if you want?" she suddenly said, nervously.

"No, no. I love listening to you talk," Ezra chimed, smiling down at Aria, whose rosy cheeks weren't just the product of the chilly air. He thought it was cute the way she was self-conscious about these little things, but still, it only made him more intent to make her feel good about herself and to wipe away any doubts she had.

Just as they were about to cross the road to turn down Aria's street, a small child arrived beside them and began to pull on the sleeve of Aria's jacket. At first, she hadn't noticed the little girl, and Aria had jumped obviously thinking someone was trying to rob her of her personal belongings, but when she set eyes on the small girl, Aria's face softened immediately and she bent down to comfort her.

"Mommy?" The child sobbed, grabbing a hold of Aria's hand. It was then Ezra noticed that the little girl was quite obviously distressed; her cheeks were red and tears were falling from her dark, brown eyes.

"No, darling. I'm not your mommy," Aria said, squeezing the little girl's hand softly. "Do you think she's lost?" Aria said, looking up towards Ezra, worry filling her hazel eyes.

"I'm betting she is. It's pretty busy here today, her parents could be anywhere," he replied, coming to match both Aria and the child's height.

"Where's my mommy?" the little girl pleaded, erupting into a fresh bout of tears, and causing a lump of empathy to form in Ezra's throat. She was terrified.

"Hey, don't cry," Aria soothed, wiping away the little girl's tears. She was very young – Ezra could tell by not only her small body, but by her childish pronunciation of her words. "What's your name?"

The child looked between the two adults before her, her eyes big and unsure all of a sudden. "Rosie," she finally answered.

"Okay, Rosie. Where did you last see your mommy?" Aria asked, making sure to catch the little girl's attention.

Rosie turned around, and pointed down the street towards one of the many buildings. "Mommy is working," she huffed, folding her arms over each other.

Ezra craned his neck to see where on earth little Rosie could be pointing to, but it was just impossible to decipher exactly which building she was indicating them to when there were at least twenty entrances along just the visible part of the street.

"Maybe you could take us there?" Ezra asked, speaking to the little girl for the first time, but this only got a harsh look from Aria.

"I don't know if that's a good idea, Ezra. What happens if her parents come out of that shop and we get accused of child abduction? Plus, are we really meant to trust a three-year-old's navigation of the city streets?" Aria's words were rushed and quiet, as if she didn't want Rosie to hear.

"Look, look!" Rosie cried, interrupting their conversation. "That's my mommy!" And with that, the little girl began to toddle along the street, bumping into people's shopping bags and legs as wove her way through the crowds.

"Oh my god," Ezra said, beginning to run after her, pulling Aria along with him. Although there were no roads to cross, Rosie could still be trampled over if she were to fall, and Ezra feared for her safety.

"Rosie!" Aria called, her voice coated with fear and anxiety for this little girl they had met only minutes ago. Eventually, the pair caught up with the tiny child, and they each insured both of Rosie's hands were held firmly by their own as they continued to walk the length of the street.

It soon became apparent what Rosie had gotten so excited over as they neared an open door to an office where a dark haired, slim woman stood with her head in her hands. "Momma!" Rosie called once again, and the woman turned, her tear stained face a look of pure relief.

"Oh thank god," she said, rushing over to where Aria and Ezra stood, having released the little girls hands so she could return to her mother. Ezra felt tears brim at the corner of his eyes as the woman scooped little Rosie up, pulling her arms around her in a protective shield and whispering words of nurture and care into her daughter's ears. After the two had had their moment, Aria and Ezra walked towards the mother and child, whose faces were both stained with happy tears.

"These are the peoples that bring me here," Rosie said, pleased with herself for identifying the pair, and then pointing towards Aria and Ezra before picking up a lock of her mother's dark, chocolate coloured hair.

"Thank you. Thank you so much," the woman said, her smile sincere and her eyes portraying nothing but gratitude. "I just opened the door to get some fresh air and turned my back for two minutes and she was just _gone_."

"It's no problem at all. We're just glad you found each other," Ezra said, taking a hold of Aria's hand, seeing she was feeling just as emotional as he was about the reunion.

"Absolutely. Rosie is a lovely little girl." Aria smiled, and waved to Rosie, who was now squirming to be released from her mom's hold.

"She is a real cutie, but sometimes she can be such a handful – times like this being a perfect example. I had to pick her up early from day care today and bring her to work, and it's safe to say I got little to nothing done." The woman shook her head at Rosie, but soon nuzzled her nose into the little girl's mass of blonde curls.

"Oh really, what do you work as?" Ezra asked curiously, but then realised that it was maybe a little forward of him to do so.

"My husband and I have our own publishing business, actually. It's pretty hectic at the moment because he is across state holding meetings with future clients just now, and I'm practically run off my feet, especially with this little one," she said, tickling Rosie under the chin playfully.

"Wow, that's impressive!" Aria said, her eyes lighting up. Ezra could tell her thoughts matched his, and he squeezed her hand knowingly.

"I'm Ezra Fitz, by the way, and this is my girlfriend, Aria Montgomery." He felt awkward, all of a sudden introducing himself to this busy, educated woman, but she seemed chatty enough and they could all perhaps benefit from what Aria had to offer.

"Flora Stewart." She offered both Ezra and Aria her hand to shake. "Well, it's really been nice talking to you, but this one unfortunately doesn't enjoy standing still for too long," she said, setting Rosie down on the ground, but making sure to grip her hand carefully. "I can't thank you enough for finding Rosie and bringing her back to me, you guys are really great people. What can I do to make this up to you?"

Ezra looked towards Aria, his eyes pleading her to step in, and for a split moment, he thought she was going to back out. A publishing business would be the perfect place for her to work – it involved using skills she loved and the people she would be working with seemed wonderful.

"Well," Aria finally said. "There isn't any chance you'd be looking for someone to help out with your business, is there?"

* * *

**Hello there! Thank you for reading, and sorry for the longer wait than expected. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, and would like to thank my lovely friend Emily (MustacheYouAQuestion) for giving me inspiration and ideas for this, and some of the following chapters! You're amazing. Also, I'd like to thank all of you guys who take time out of your day to read this story, it means the absolute world to me, as does your feedback, so please review and let me know what you thought! **

**- Kate :)**

**(Also, thank you to Courtney for getting excited for this chapter, and Flora for letting me steel your name!)**


	15. Celebratory Kisses

The following evening Aria and Ezra sat on a bench in Central Park, bundled in their winter coats despite the increasing spring like temperatures of late. Aria's hands shook not only with the cold, but with anxiety and anticipation of meeting her future manager and work colleagues. Yesterday, after the whole ordeal with Rosie, Flora had been more than delighted to offer Aria a job at her publishing business, but she only felt it fair that her husband have a say in the matter, so the four had agreed to meet for dinner to discuss exactly what would be happening as of Monday.

Ezra seemed to be very much aware of Aria's state of disquietude, despite her attempts to hide her nerves. "Aria, calm down. There's no need to be nervous; you saw how kind and laid back Flora is. This'll be a piece of cake!" He tried to calm her and in essence, it worked, but she couldn't quite seem to scare away the butterflies which danced around in her stomach.

"What if he doesn't like me? I mean, really, who would be willing to hire an eighteen year old?" Aria argued, rubbing her hands together in quick movements to keep the cold air from biting at them.

Ezra shook his head at her in disbelief, and at first, Aria feared she had angered him. "You need to have some confidence in yourself. It's as if ever since not getting to go to college, you've lost faith in yourself. You have nothing to be worried, nervous or embarrassed about, Aria. And never think that you're not good enough, because your writing is beyond exceptional." He took her hands in his, which caused her to stare into his deep, ocean like eyes. "You're amazing, Aria. Never let anyone tell you different."

It took everything in Aria to keep the tears from rolling down her flushed cheeks at that moment, as she smiled lovingly at the man before her. "I love you," she said, kissing him gently on the cheek before pulling back in realisation about what he had just said. "Wait…my writing?"

Ezra's eyes clouded over for a moment, as if he was struggling for words, but all of a sudden a smile appeared on his face and he pursed his lips. "Hey there, Flora," he said, standing from his spot on the bench and walking the few yards to where Flora, her daughter Rosie, and a man who looked to be in his late twenties and who Aria assumed to be Flora's husband, were standing.

Aria looked after Ezra, bewildered at first to the way they had left the conversation, but she decided it would be best for her current mental state to allow the topic to slip for now. She could interrogate him later over midnight kisses and hopefully, if things went well, some celebratory champagne.

"Hello, Aria," Flora said, a warm smile gracing her face as she reached out to shake Aria's hand.

"Hey, good to see you," Aria replied, before letting her eyes fall to the man who stood next to her, his arm wrapped around his wife's lower back contently. He looked to be of Hispanic origin and was dressed in expensive looking clothes, down to his padded jacket and fancy pair of intellectual looking glasses. At first sight, Aria felt a little intimidated by his good looks and obvious wealth, and she took a deep breath before preparing to introduce herself.

"Hi, I'm Emilio," he said before she even had a chance to open her mouth, without a trace of the accent Aria had expected to hear by her judgement of his appearance. He shared the same friendliness that seemed to flow throughout the whole family, which settled Aria slightly.

"Aria," she said, returning his handshake and smiling back. It appeared, just as she had misjudged his accent, she had also misjudged his personality, which had led Aria to promise to herself that she would never judge a book by its cover ever again. "And hello, Rosie," she added, bending down to greet the little girl who stood in between her parent's legs, her mitten clad hand placed firmly in her father's.

"Hi," she said, shyly, a smile beginning to form as she recognised Aria's face from the day before. "You took me to my mommy when I was lost!"

"That's right," Aria said, surprised the little girl had remembered the ordeal. "Have you been good for your mommy since then?"

"Yes. Haven't I, Mommy?" Rosie said, pulling on her mother's sleeve and interrupting the conversation between the three adults that was going on a bovver their heads.

"You have been a very good girl, Rosie," Flora replied, smiling down at her daughter before giving Aria a humorous look and shaking her head at her outspoken, and adorable child. "Well, we better get to the restaurant before we're late for our reservation."

The walk through the park was spent discussing each of the couple's similar traits – of course their mutual love for writing – and they were all kept very entertained by Rosie's sudden outbursts of excitement and cuteness. So far, Aria was having a pleasant time, and her nerves had subsided for the time being, allowing her to enjoy the time she was spending socially with these friendly, new people. She couldn't believe the amount of genuine interest Flora and Emilio seemed to have for her, and for the first time – aside from Ezra – it felt as if people were actually listening to what she had to say.

They walked into the restaurant – a quiet, middle class place not unlike where Ezra and Aria had shared the earlier half of their first date. Ezra took hold of Aria's hand as they were shown to their table, obviously thinking the same thoughts as she was, and they both shared a hushed chuckle as they recalled their abrupt exit and the laughter they'd shared. She was reminded then that she had the best man in the world standing next to her, not that he hadn't ever proven that before, but by the interest and determination he had shown over the past day about preparing Aria for this dinner, and for her possible new job, Aria really couldn't keep the smile off of her face because of her sudden rush of luck. What had she done to deserve all of this? Sure, she had been through enough hard times that would scar her for life, but that was only one half of her personality, and she was sure that Ezra was in love with her as a whole.

As the five sat down at the circular table, Aria had expected the conversation to fall to their reason for being there in the first place; her possible employment. However, it was quite the opposite. The atmosphere was relaxed, and each of the adults took time to play with little Rosie and her Captain Hook adventure play pack which the server had very kindly supplied her with. At first, Aria was almost shocked at the intelligence of the child, and couldn't let herself believe that she was only three; she practically had a bigger vocabulary than half the boys she'd gone to high school with, and the question was somehow eating away at Aria's brain as the little girl joined the dots on Captain Hook's pirate ship to form the sail. "How old is Rosie?" Aria finally asked, noticing that Flora had been watching them play.

"She's three and a half," Flora replied, obviously sensing Aria's shock.

"Wow. I mean, she's just so intelligent and aware of everything. She obviously inherited it from her very intellectual parents," Aria smiled, watching over Rosie as she began to place little cartoon stickers around the activity book.

Flora was silent, and her face fell slightly, but before long, she resumed her posture and a sad smile appeared on her face. "We're not actually Rosie's biological parents. We adopted her when she was six months old and it was the best decision I've ever made. The fact that Emilio and I were able to give this beautiful, charming little girl a life that her parents couldn't provide her with is something that makes me smile every day. She is the best thing that's ever happened to us."

Aria was stunned. She hadn't seen that coming at all, but now she thought about it, it really should have occurred to her. Rosie's blonde curls and fair skin were a stark contrast to Emilio's dark, Hispanic complexion and Flora's brunette tresses. But it was easy to be oblivious to the physical aspects of the family when you experienced first-hand how united, whole and in love they all were. They felt real, more real than any family Aria had ever known, and this made her smile in admiration at Flora's strength and dedication to her daughter. Aria placed her hand on Flora's shoulder, and squeezed softly. "Wow. That is possibly the most amazing thing I've ever heard. Good for you, Flora. You guys are just the most perfect little family, and I really admire you for all of your actions. You've raised Rosie to be such a wonderful little girl, and I can't imagine a better set of parents for her to have."

"Thank you, Aria. Saying that really means the world to me. There are so many days where I fear for the future and doubt our decision, but overall, I know Rosie will always be our daughter. I guess just knowing that one day, she could want to go out and find her birth parents scares me, and that's why I'm so protective of her. But Emilio and I have both vowed that we will support her in everything she does, and for now I'm just so happy I get to spend my life with her." Flora's eyes began to water as she turned to Rosie for a distraction from crying, and Aria was feeling exactly the same empathy after hearing their story. Luckily, the men were tied up in a conversation about classic poetry, so Aria didn't have to worry about shedding a tear in Ezra's view. She watched as Rosie looked up at her mommy, her big, brown eyes full of wonder and excitement as Flora read the Magical Tales of Captain Hook and his Pirates.

Soon enough, the waiter came with their orders, and Aria's mouth began to water with the delicious smells of the creamy chicken dish she had requested. Just as she was about to take her first mouthful, she heard Flora call her name, and Aria turned her attention to the woman next to her. "About the job? Emilio and I think you're the perfect candidate, and we'd absolutely love to have you work with us."

Aria dropped her fork, and her jaw dropped in surprise. "Seriously?" she cried, not believing what she's just heard.

Flora and Emilio looked at each other, both nodding their heads. "Seriously."

Aria looked towards Ezra and saw his smile of true elation and excitement for her. "Thank you so, so much. This really means the world to me, and I can't wait to work with such amazing and admirable people," Aria said, trying to keep her words smooth as she managed to contain her excitement.

"You're very welcome, and we're lucky to have such a passionate person as part of our team!" Emilio said, smiling at Aria truthfully and wholeheartedly. "Now I think this causes for some celebratory champagne!"

"Definitely!" Flora and Ezra said in unison, with the help of little Rosie in the background, which caused the whole table to erupt with laughter.

"Congratulations," Ezra mouthed from across the table, as the others began chatter away nonchalantly. How she wished she could crawl across the table and kiss him lovingly and passionately right at this moment, and she could tell that Ezra was thinking the exact same thing just by the devious twinkle in his eye.

"Thank you," Aria mouthed back, blowing him a kiss mockingly, as if they were part of a cheesy eighties romantic comedy movie. He giggled at her dorkiness, but at the same time, caught the kiss and placed it on his heart, causing Aria to swell up with emotion. He was beautiful, inside and out.

After their meal and several glasses of expensive champagne, Ezra and Aria said goodbye to Flora, Emilio and a sleepy Rosie, and made their way back to Ezra's apartment. While Aria wasn't drunk, this had been one of the few occasions where she had consumed alcohol in a while, and it was needless to say she was a little tipsy. They wandered home slowly, at ease of not having to worry about being late; there were no boundaries tonight.

Aria held Ezra's hand tight, still unsure of the busy city surroundings at night and feeling protected by Ezra's strong and brave stance. As she held Ezra's hand, she couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to have a miniature version of her or Ezra toddling along beside them. She couldn't help but compare her and Ezra's relationship with Flora and Emilio's. They weren't postcard perfect; they had a story to them that you wouldn't guess by merely observing them. And in a way, the dynamics of their relationship was almost the same as Ezra and Aria's – there were bumps in the canvas and missing pieces of information, but that didn't matter. Aria and Ezra's relationship was like an enzyme's relationship with its substrate; they were specific to each other. And Aria knew, no matter where the future took them (whether that be producing a new product or not) their relationship would remain unaltered and just as dedicated as it had been beforehand.

Their walk was silent as Aria's trippy mind took her to pictures of her and Ezra together, little snapshots of the future that was to come. She smiled happily as she watched her hand swing back and forth with Ezra's as they walked side by side, and she had a sudden urgency to arrive back at Ezra's apartment so she could curl into his toned chest and dream away her sorrows and worries. Maybe it was the little bit of alcohol she had consumed that was causing her to feel this way, but deep down, Aria knew that being offered this job was going to open a new chapter in her relationship with Ezra, and she couldn't wait for the pages that were about to come.

"You're quiet tonight," Ezra said as they climbed the stairs of the apartment block.

"I'm just…thinking," Aria replied, stopping at the top of the landing to catch her breath.

Ezra smiled curiously. "About?"

"Us," Aria admitted, placing her hand on Ezra's cheek and stroking it softly. She placed a kiss on his lips, before racing off down the hallway in the direction of Ezra's apartment. She looked back, and saw Ezra was stood in the spot she had left him in, obviously confused by Aria's absurd and childish action, and she giggled in response.

"What the hell, Aria?" He called, his eyebrows knitted into a confused V-shape.

"I have a surprise for you, Mr Fitz," Aria said huskily, beginning to unbutton her coat. "But you have to catch me first." She continued to run along the hallway, around corners and into the stairwell opposite Ezra's front door, and all the while he chased after her, calling her name and playing along with her little game. Finally, he cornered her, and she began to giggle at her own irrational behaviour. Ezra saw this as a moment of weakness, and hoisted Aria up into his arms, and carried her bridal style along the corridor and into his apartment.

"You are a strange one sometimes, aren't you?" Ezra chuckled, setting Aria onto the bed as she squealed and wriggled under his ticklish hold.

"And that's why you love me." She sat up, slipping off her shoes and then curling up against his body.

"And that's why I love you," Ezra quoted and placed a soft kiss on her forehead before settling down to sleep. Aria smiled inwardly. She was sure she would be confused and dazzled at the events that had occurred when she woke up in the morning, but she knew one thing for certain – she would definitely _not _regret it.

* * *

**Hello again, it's been a while. So I have been incredibly busy with school, tests and all sorts lately, so unfortunately I've been left with little time to write, hence, the three week delay with this chapter, sorry! I'd like to thank you all for sticking with me throughout this story, your support means the world to me! Thanks to Emily for providing me with her name (switched genders) and also for all of your reviews! I should be able to update at the usual pace again now. I hope I'm not going to be too busy. Anyway, please review and let me know what you think of this chapter, there may be some excitement coming up soon ;) - Kate! xox  
**


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